Manchester City punished Kepa Arrizabalaga’s howler to lift the League Cup as Nico O’Reilly’s double sealed a 2-0 win against Arsenal in Sunday’s final at Wembley.
Arsenal goalkeeper Kepa already had a tortured relationship with the League Cup and the Spaniard’s latest mishap in the tournament’s showpiece proved decisive.
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Allowing Rayan Cherki’s cross to slip through his fingers, Kepa presented O’Reilly with the chance to put City ahead in the second half.
O’Reilly struck again just four minutes later to seal City’s ninth League Cup, giving boss Pep Guardiola a record fifth triumph in the competition.
Mikel Arteta chose to ignore Kepa’s League Cup history when he selected the former Chelsea keeper instead of first-choice David Raya, but the gamble backfired spectacularly.
Playing for Chelsea in the 2019 final, he infamously refused to be substituted just before the shootout, then failed to save a single kick, while in the 2022 defeat against Liverpool he missed a penalty in a shootout.
“Kepa is not as good as Raya, that’s why he’s No.2,” Jamie Redknapp said on Sky Sports after the match.
“So why, in a League Cup final when you haven’t won a trophy in so long, do you decide to play him?
“You have to take responsibility for that. That’s a monumental error.
“I’m not saying he’s bad. He isn’t as good as Raya and it’s come back and backfired big time.”
Micah Richards added: “The difference between Kepa and Raya is so big. So in a big game, you’re thinking you’ve got to go with Raya.
“We’re talking about it because it cost Arsenal the game.”
Arsenal’s failure to win the first trophy since the 2020 FA Cup was a painful blow, ending their bid to land an unprecedented quadruple.
They paid the price for Arteta’s unnecessarily conservative tactics, but the season is far from over for the north Londoners.
They remain firmly in control of their bid for a first English title since 2004, while also facing Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-finals and Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League quarter-finals.
After failing to win silverware last season and falling well behind Arsenal in this season’s Premier League title race, this was a vital success for City, coming just days after their Champions League last-16 exit against Real Madrid.
Guardiola has yet to confirm whether he will remain at City next season after another season of speculation that this could be his latest campaign in Manchester.
But the Spaniard’s frenzied celebration of his 15th major trophy at City suggested his passion is undimmed.
Now Guardiola can focus on using City’s first win over Arsenal since 2023 as a springboard to close the nine-point gap on the Premier League leaders.
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– City power surge –
James Trafford started in goal for City instead of regular first-choice Gianluigi Donnarumma and the understudy quickly repaid Guardiola’s faith with a sensational triple save.
Kai Havertz was presented with a golden opportunity by Martin Zubimendi’s deft pass.
But Trafford spread himself to block the German’s close-range shot before using his chest and then his outstretched foot to twice deny Bukayo Saka from the rebound.
Arsenal stifled City with their well-drilled pressing but showed little creativity after that initial burst.
Even the Gunners’ trademark dominance at set pieces was absent and City fans chanted ‘boring, boring Arsenal’ after Piero Hincapie nodded over from Saka’s corner.
City were transformed in the second half, tormenting Arsenal with a spell of unrelenting pressure.
City were furious when Kepa escaped with a booking after racing out of his area in a misjudged attempt to stop Jeremy Doku reaching Matheus Nunes’ long pass.
But Kepa’s habit of making costly mistakes wasn’t about to fade away and the Spaniard’s blunder gifted City the lead on the hour.
The build-up was vintage City as Rodri’s lofted pass picked out Bernardo Silva and he fed Cherki for a cross that should have been a routine catch for Kepa.
Instead, he let the ball squirm through his grasp and O’Reilly pounced to head home from close-range.
Shell-shocked Arsenal completely lost their composure after Kepa’s blunder and City delivered the knockout blow four minutes later.
Nunes was the catalyst with a perfectly weighted cross to the far post, where O’Reilly steamed past Saka to bury a clinical header past Kepa.
Guardiola’s joy was unconfined as he punched the air and sprinted down the touchline.
Booked for his extravagant celebration, Guardiola was again unable to contain himself when the final whistle signalled the end of City’s trophy drought.
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– O’Reilly savours ‘unbelievable’ double –
Nico O’Reilly savoured a weekend to remember after the Manchester City defender’s double sealed a 2-0 win over Arsenal in the League Cup final on Sunday — just 24 hours after his birthday.
O’Reilly turned 21 on Saturday and followed his birthday celebration with a man of the match performance at Wembley.
The left-back punished a mistake from Arsenal goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga to open the scoring with a close-range header on the hour.
And O’Reilly struck again with another header four minutes later to give City their ninth League Cup triumph.
“Unbelievable feeling. To win a final, to beat this team we know how good they are. We need to build on it, it will give us good momentum. Buzzing with today,” O’Reilly said.
“Bit of disbelief seeing all the fans cheering like that when I scored those goals. Really a good feeling and a great birthday weekend.
“My whole family came down today. They are all in the stand and I know they will be buzzing. I can’t wait to celebrate with them.”
O’Reilly has been converted from a midfielder to a defender by Pep Guardiola since breaking into the City team.
The England international said that familiarity with being in attacking positions allowed him to capitalise on Arsenal’s mistakes.
“Since I was a kid I always played in midfield, I was always arriving in the box and scoring goals,” he said.
“To bring it in at senior level and the highest level, it’s good for me and adds goals to my game. A great feeling.”
Nix go back-to-back to keep season alive | 01:01
– Arteta defends Kepa selection –
Mikel Arteta defended his decision to select Kepa Arrizabalaga in the League Cup final after the Arsenal goalkeeper’s costly mistake sparked a 2-0 defeat against Manchester City on Sunday.
Kepa was guilty of a horrendous blunder in the second half at Wembley when he let Rayan Cherki’s cross slip through his fingers, gifting Nico O’Reilly the chance to head in City’s opener.
Arsenal never recovered and O’Reilly struck again four minutes later to leave the Gunners still waiting for their first major trophy since 2020.
Arteta had opted to keep faith with Kepa instead of picking first-choice stopper David Raya because the former Chelsea star has been a regular in the League Cup this season.
The gamble backfired as Kepa endured another League Cup final moment to forget after his 2019 refusal to be substituted by Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri prior to a penalty shootout defeat against Manchester City in which he failed to save a kick.
Kepa also missed a penalty in a shootout loss to Liverpool three years later. Asked about the criticism of his decision, Arteta said: “I understand but I have to do what is right and fair.
“Kepa had played all the competition, I think it would have been unfair to him and the team to do something different.
“He had gone all the way through this competition. Errors are part of football and unfortunately it happened today at a crucial moment.”
Sitting nine points clear at the top of the Premier League, Arsenal were favoured to beat City but they failed to rise to the occasion.
Far too conservative for long periods at Wembley, Arsenal remain without a trophy since the 2020 FA Cup after their quadruple bid came to a painful end.
“Very sad, very hard one to take. We know how much it means and how much we wanted it. The fact we haven’t delivered that is disappointing and leaves a bad taste,” Arteta said.
“First half we were the better team and had the biggest chance of the game, if we scored that it would have changed the game.
“In the first 20 minutes of the second half we weren’t at our best. We struggled to get out of our block and conceded the goal in an unexpected manner obviously.
“You have to give credit to the opposition. They raised their level and capitalised on their moments. We didn’t.”
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