Ian Wright claims Carabao Cup defeat has ‘turned up’ the pressure on Arsenal in Premier League title race
The Gunners currently lead the Premier League by nine points with eight games left, though City have a game in hand
Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright has claimed that the 2-0 loss to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final has turned up the pressure on the Gunners in the Premier League title race. Mikel Arteta ’s side fell to a disappointing defeat at Wembley as they contested the silverware final of the season , with the Gunners’ quadruple bid falling at the first hurdle as Nico O’Reilly scored a brace to secure the Carabao Cup. Arsenal were bidding for a first major trophy since 2020 but a howler from Kepa Arrizabalaga gifted O’Reilly his first goal , before the City full-back arrived in the box to power a header past Kepa for the second.
Arsenal still have a nine-point lead at the top of the Premier League (Getty) It means that City strike the first blow in this season’s renewed rivalry between the two clubs, who currently sit in first and second in the Premier League. And while the Gunners lead the league by nine points, Wright urged caution as they navigate the rest of the league season, explaining that the players need to “refocus and get themselves back on track”. “It’s nine points, but Man City have a game in hand and they’ve got to play them, so it can go down to three,” explained Wright.
“All of a sudden, the pressure really turns up. Make no mistake, this nine points is a tight nine points “Arsenal really need to refocus and get themselves back on track for what they want to do. They need to win games now.
“People talk about how they win games ‘oh it’s set pieces’ – it doesn’t matter, everyone knows that. We’ve got a DNA of winning games resiliently. They’ve got to kick into this because this team know it’s not over.