Pep Guardiola insists Man City celebrations did not show Arsenal 'disrespect' in Carabao Cup final

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·22 mars 2026

Pep Guardiola insists Man City celebrations did not show Arsenal 'disrespect' in Carabao Cup final

City boss did not hold back with his reaction to Nico O’Reilly’s decisive second-half goals in record-breaking Wembley triumph

Pep Guardiola insists that he did not show Arsenal any “disrespect” with his passionate celebrations during Manchester City’s Carabao Cup final triumph.

The City boss did not hold back after both of Nico O’Reilly’s quick-fire second-half goals that secured a 2-0 victory for his side in Sunday’s showpiece fixture between the Premier League title rivals at Wembley.

Guardiola ran around his technical area, leaped in the air and kicked an advertising hoarding before running down the touchline in jubilation as he celebrated the England left-back’s decisive pair of headers that came in the space of just four minutes shortly past the hour mark.

The Spaniard is currently in the middle of a two-game domestic touchline ban that did not apply to the Carabao Cup final, having been absent from the dugout for last weekend’s 1-1 Premier League draw with West Ham after being shown his sixth yellow card of the season in the FA Cup fifth-round win over Newcastle earlier this month.

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Guardiola will also not be on the touchline during City’s FA Cup quarter-final showdown with Liverpool after the international break, having also watched the third-round rout of Exeter at the Etihad Stadium in January from the stands.

"I wanted another yellow card and that is why I did it," Guardiola joked of his wild celebrations at Wembley. "That was the target.

"Listen, if I can't celebrate in the moment against a team like Arsenal, and the way we were playing... My emotions are related to the way we are playing. I react when it is OK, we scored a goal, and emotions came out.

"I am not artificially intelligent, I am a human being, and I want to celebrate. It was not showing disrespect to Arsenal or for the other fans, I just celebrated with my people. And when I feel it, I express it."

Victory in Sunday’s final saw Guardiola become the most successful manager in League Cup history, winning the trophy for the fifth time overall.

That saw him move clear of the likes of fellow legendary coaches Brian Clough, Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho, who all won it four times.