Arsenal stars respond to Carabao Cup final heartbreak in message to fans

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Evening Standard

·23 Maret 2026

Arsenal stars respond to Carabao Cup final heartbreak in message to fans

Gunners were outclassed by title rivals Manchester City at Wembley as quadruple dreams dashed

Arsenal’s players have issued a defiant response to their 2-0 Carabao Cup final defeat by Manchester City.

Nico O’Reilly’s quick-fire second-half headed double settled Sunday’s showpiece fixture between the Premier League title rivals at Wembley.

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The manner of the Arsenal performance was concerning, with Mikel Arteta’s side thoroughly second-best throughout a one-sided second half in which City were dominant en route to winning the first major silverware of the season.

Arsenal’s dreams of an unprecedented quadruple were dashed as the loss renewed worries over their ability to rise to the biggest occasions, with the club for now remaining trophyless since the 2020 FA Cup final.

Though they will remain strong favourites to win respective FA Cup and Champions League quarter-final ties against Southampton and Sporting after the international break, the Gunners’ latest Wembley struggles will have given City real belief for the Premier League title run-in.

They trail Arsenal by nine points at the top-flight summit, though still have a game in hand and host their rivals at the Etihad Stadium on April 19.

The spotlight will now be firmly back on Arsenal to ensure they don’t allow the Carabao Cup final heartbreak to derail an otherwise special season, with Arteta’s stars insisting that it makes them even more determined to finish the campaign strongly.

“A final defeat doesn’t define us,” Declan Rice wrote on Instagram. “Only makes us hungrier to go on and finish the season strong.

“Thank you to our amazing fans as always. See you after the break.”

Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres said: “Of course we don't feel great right now but it's not like we have another game in three days.

“It's a few weeks until the next one. For sure we'll go again and be even more motivated for those games coming up.

"I think we started quite well. I think we created some OK chances in the beginning of the game and then it was maybe 10 minutes from the break when they got the momentum.

"I think they had the ball, maybe didn't create so many dangerous chances, but they had the ball for a long time and it looked the same in the second half.

"Playing top teams, it can be like that. From the moment of the game when they scored it was difficult to get back afterwards."