Guardiola never gets tired of winning trophies | OneFootball

Men's Team

City win ninth League Cup with victory over Arsenal at Wembley

No manager has won the League Cup more often after he oversaw a 2-0 victory over Arsenal to win the 2025/26 trophy at Wembley.

Nico O’Reilly scored twice in the space of four minutes just after the hour to land our first silverware of the campaign.

Guardiola has now won an incredible 19 trophies during his time at the Etihad and celebrated our latest success enthusiastically following the full-time whistle.

“I still enjoy it,” he said reflecting on winning the trophy. “Today was a real challenge and nobody gives us anything.

“Today we saw ourselves and our level against the best team. We were what we are. That is the proof and challenge. That’s what we’re about.

“We don’t regret the challenge, sport is that. They are the best so far. Second half, I could not believe we could do that against Arsenal but we did it.”

SHOP OUR CARABAO CUP 2026 WINNERS RANGE

It’s eight years since Guardiola won his first medal at City, also winning the League Cup and also against Arsenal back in 2018.

For many of his players it as a first winners’ medal and the boss says the win can give the players the belief to go on and win more.

“When we played first Carabao Cup here against Arsenal it was the same,” he said.

“For James [Trafford] it was the first final he played, [Abdukodir] Khusanov just a year here, Nico O’Reilly has impressed me in his first full season and Antoine [Semenyo] played his first final.

“There are many players who have had a first experience but that is good, that’s what we need. That tells us okay we can do it.

“Still we are much better than last season but not the team we should be. That requires time. Hopefully next season and the end of this season we can do it.”

City now go into the international break with a trophy secured and will come back fighting for more.

We have an FA Cup quarter-final with Liverpool to come, while the Premier League race is still alive although Arsenal are nine points ahead, having played a game more and a visit to the Etihad still to come.

“I would like to be nine points in front of Arsenal,” he added on the title race.

“[This game] will have no impact, it’s different competitions. They will be more concerned when they come to the Etihad, this will help us at the Etihad against Liverpool.

“The Premier League is in their hands, they punish us a lot. There were two periods, the three draws with Sunderland, Brighton and Chelsea and then this one with Forest and West Ham.

“If they drop points, we are going to try to win our games and we will see what happens.”