Three things we learned from Arsenal loss as Mikel Arteta makes huge mistake

In partnership with

Evening Standard

·22 March 2026

Three things we learned from Arsenal loss as Mikel Arteta makes huge mistake

Painful questions return as passive Gunners miss chance to end trophy drought in Wembley no-show

A Carabao Cup final defeat to send Arsenal crashing back down to Earth.

OneFootball Videos

The Gunners arrived at Wembley with their eyes on a first trophy since 2020, one that would have set the stage for bigger things to come and sent quadruple talk into overdrive.

Instead, they left empty-handed and deservedly so. Nico O'Reilly's brace in a 2-0 Manchester City win was a firm reminder that Pep Guardiola and his players are the ones who know how to deliver on the big stage.

Arsenal were limp and lacking in any ambition. This was a performance of a side fearing defeat rather than wanting to grasp the prize in front of them.

City ran them ragged in the second half in an emphatic response to their Champions League exit in midweek.

The Gunners now have to reset before a reinvigorated City come at them again after the international break. Play like this during the run-in and there will be more miserable afternoons to come.

It will be a long two weeks for Mikel Arteta.

While his players fly off on international duty, the Arsenal manager has plenty of thinking to do and answers to find to ensure his side's season does not run out of steam at the worst possible moment.

This final was billed as a potential launchpad into a new era for Arsenal, an occasion to prove they were ready to lift silverware and become a dominant force.

Instead, familiar questions are back. Can they deliver when it really matters? Do they really believe they are better than Man City? Could a season that teased four trophies end without any?

It would be unfair to use this one performance to suggest the Gunners could end the season empty-handed, but they do now face a major test of their character.

City's season has just had a huge burst of impetus. Arsenal still have to go to the Etihad Stadium and after this display, City will be relishing that.

If Arsenal lose that and City win their game in hand, the Gunners will have just a three-point advantage at the top of the table. All of a sudden, nothing feels secure for Arsenal.

Kepa’s mistake led to Nico O’Reilly scoring the first of his quick-fire double for Manchester City

Getty Images

Arteta's Kepa decision the wrong one

The cameras cutting to David Raya on the hour mark was not a good sign.

Arteta made the big call to start Kepa Arrizabalaga at Wembley, rewarding him for his role in getting Arsenal to the final, but it was a decision that backfired massively.

Kepa got away with his first error. Early in the second half he charged off his line, misjudged the bounce of the ball and could only drag Jeremy Doku back. He escaped with only a yellow card.

It got worse for the Spaniard on the hour mark, when Rayan Cherki sent a simple enough cross straight at him. Kepa let it squirm through his hands and into the path of O'Reilly for a tap-in.

Kepa refused to be substituted in the 2019 Carabao Cup final when at Chelsea, who then lost on penalties. It was another shootout defeat three years later, when he was brought on just for the penalties and let all 11 in before missing himself. Make it a hat-trick of Carabao Cup nightmares.

Passive Gunners pay the price

Arteta, in his pre-match press conference, urged his players to "attack the trophy" at Wembley. That message could not have been further from what actually played out.

At half-time, both sides felt to blame for an opening 45 minutes devoid of any risk-taking or entertainment.

By the end of the match, it was Arsenal left to reflect on a dismal second-half performance and a huge occasion in which they simply did not lay a glove on City.

Arsenal must quickly shake off the disappointment, with three more trophies up for grabs this season

Action Images via Reuters

The signs had been there late in the first half, Arteta twice swivelling away and swiping the air in frustration as Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz then failed to hold up the ball.

It got even worse after half-time. Arsenal were pinned back in their own box, resorting to aimlessly clearing the ball up the pitch and then bracing themselves for another wave of City attacks.

This felt more like the approach of a lower-league side. City cranked up the intensity and there was no response from Arsenal, who looked miles off their opponents.

Kepa's mistake was a disaster, but the goal had been coming. Once it came, an Arsenal comeback never felt remotely likely.