Man City's League Cup glory adds twist to title race

As Pep Guardiola wiped away the sting of the Champagne sprayed by his jubilant players after Sunday’s League Cup final triumph against Arsenal, the Manchester City boss was confronted with a burning question.

Nico O’Reilly’s second-half double had just sealed a 2-0 win in the Wembley showpiece, handing City a psychological boost at the expense of their Premier League title rivals.

But will Guardiola’s record fifth League Cup serve as a catalyst to catch Arsenal in the title race?

The City boss, who hadn’t masterminded a victory over his old assistant Mikel Arteta since 2023, knows beating Arsenal in a one-off showpiece occasion is difficult enough.

Finding a way to overhaul Premier League leaders Arsenal, who hold a nine-point advantage over second-placed City, is an even more daunting proposition.

“I would like to have nine points in front of Arsenal,” Guardiola said.

“I said to the players: ‘Today, we are going to see what our level is’. They are the best so far, no doubt about that, so let’s prove ourselves and in the second half, I could not believe we could do it against Arsenal.

“But this win will have no impact (on the title race). It is a different competition.”

City have a game in hand on Arsenal and host the Gunners at the Etihad Stadium in April.

Yet Guardiola acknowledged even winning those two matches won’t be enough for City unless Arsenal slip up elsewhere.

“They will be more controlled when they come to the Etihad. Maybe for that game it will help us, but the Premier League is in their hands,” he said.

“Is that team going to drop points? We will try to win our games and then see what happens.”

After recent damaging draws in the league against lowly West Ham and Nottingham Forest, as well as a limp Champions League last-16 exit against Real Madrid, City badly needed a trophy to lift the mood at the Etihad.

 

‘Fire in the belly’

They went without silverware last term, but Guardiola believes this can be the start of a new era for a club with 19 trophies in all competitions since he arrived a decade ago.

“When you start to win and the generation is young you can continue that. I need to know how they behave in certain moments,” Guardiola said of a team expensively revamped in the last 18 months.

“I can smell something that can flourish. Winning helps to anticipate the process.

“We are much better than last season but still we are not the team we should be. That requires time. Hopefully by the end of next season we will be.”

Arsenal went into the final as firm favourites as they chased a first trophy in six years.

But they departed still waiting for the second major prize of the Arteta era, assailed with questions about their manager’s selections and tactics, as well as a recurring habit of choking on the big stage.

Runners-up in the Premier League for the last three seasons, Arsenal cannot afford to let the Wembley defeat impact the rest of their treble-chasing campaign.

Arteta’s decision to pick Kepa Arrizabalaga instead of regular goalkeeper David Raya backfired when the understudy fumbled Rayan Cherki’s cross as O’Reilly bagged City’s first goal.

Arteta’s conversative game-plan also came under fire, but the Arsenal boss vowed his team would use the pain as fuel to win the Premier League for the first time since 2004.

“We need to have some perspective on it. We are going to use this disappointment and this fire in the belly to have the most amazing two months that we have ever had together,” said Arteta, whose side are in the Champions League and FA Cup quarter-finals.

“That’s on us and we’ll manage that energy in the right way. Now we have to go through that pain and disappointment.

“The good thing is that we have a very recent history with reacting in these moments, and I’m sure that we’re going to do it again.”