Arsenal: Mikel Arteta reveals if he regrets starting Kepa Arrizabalaga in the Carabao Cup final | OneFootball

Goalkeeper produced an error-strewn display at Wembley

Mikel Arteta has defended starting Kepa Arrizabalaga in the Carabao Cup final, insisting he would “do it again” in future.

But Kepa produced an error-strewn display, first rushing from his goal to tangle with Jeremy Doku and then fumbling a cross to gift Nico O’Reilly the opening goal.

O’Reilly added a second shortly afterwards to kill the game, leaving Arsenal facing another defeat in a key final as their trophy drought continues.

But Arteta had no regrets after the game, insisting that he would start Kepa again in the future.

"I made a decision before the game based on what he has done all season, the fact he has played in the competition and helped us be where we are today,” Arteta told BBC 5 Live.

“It would have been very unfair to choose a different one."

He added to reports: “I have to do what I feel is right, which is honest and which is fair, and I think we have an understanding with Kepa. He's played all the competition and I think it would have been very, very unfair for him and for the team to do something different.

"I can never promise a player to play certain competitions because, at the end of the day, they have to earn it, and they have to do enough like any other position to do that.

“We are guided by what we've seen and what he's done, what he's done in the competition, and he helped us to go all the way through here. I believe it's the right thing to do, and that's it. Errors are part of football, and today it happened, unfortunately, in a crucial moment."

Arteta described the defeat as “a really sad day”, adding: “It’s painful, especially for our player and supporters because we really wanted to lift that trophy today.

It was two very different halves, especially the first half when I think we were better than them and had the best two chances of the game. We didn't capitalise on that. Credit to them for what we have done. A really sad day."

Kepa was criticised during the game, before the goals, for taking his time over goal kicks. The goalkeeper was repeatedly seen running down the clock over for 30 seconds, despite the scores being level.

Asked if it was an instruction from himself, Arteta responded: “It’s not the moment to talk about that.”