Arsenal can change everything in Carabao Cup final - just ask Man City | OneFootball

Gunners have chance to take big step in journey to becoming serial winners again

As the run-in nears and the spotlight intensifies, all signs point towards Arsenal and Manchester City defining each other's seasons.

With all due respect to Aston Villa, it will surely be the two of them battling it out for the Premier League title.

There is every chance they meet in the Champions League too, with the draw making a quarter-final meeting a possibility. Should that happen, they will face off three times in the space of barely ten days in April, culminating in a pivotal league clash at the Etihad.

What is certain for now is that Arsenal and City will stride out alongside each other on March 22 in the Carabao Cup final.

At the start of the season, Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola would both have had this competition down as their fourth priority in terms of competitions.

Arsenal will play Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final on March 22

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Now, though, the Wembley final feels a particularly significant one and a match that is perhaps more important to Arsenal than it is to City, who have been there and done it before.

Beating Guardiola's side would give Arsenal an obvious psychological boost, the benefits of which could be seen in one, or maybe even two, big Etihad showdowns later this season.

Arteta knows first-hand just how helpful winning the Carabao Cup can be to kick on and claim the biggest prizes.

During his time as Guardiola's assistant, Arteta was twice involved in a City side that lifted the Carabao Cup and then the Premier League a few months later.

In 2017-18, the League Cup was Guardiola's first trophy in English football and a key stepping stone in his assault on trophies over the past decade.

Success at Wembley is of course not essential - Liverpool lost the final of this competition last year and cruised to the league title anyway.

But winning breeds winning and, for this Arsenal side, ending a trophy drought of almost six years would be a huge moment.

Mikel Arteta’s side can get a monkey off their back and open a path to more silverware

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They have made massive progress during Arteta's tenure, finishing second in the last three seasons in the league, but now is the time to prove they can get over the line.

Arteta won the 2020 FA Cup final in his first season at the club but that did not feel like his team. The Spaniard played a back three that day against Chelsea, making do with what he had.

Bukayo Saka was on the bench but otherwise none of the matchday squad are still at the club. The current crop have not tasted success in an Arsenal shirt.

Next month's clash with City will the first time Arteta walks out for a final with a side that has his principles stamped all over, filled with players he has brought into the first team either from the academy or the transfer market.

It will be a big afternoon for the fans, too. That 2020 final was played behind closed doors in the Covid period.

The Carabao Cup could be a springboard for bigger trophies

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Arsenal's last final before that was in Baku, a ridiculous choice of venue for the Europa League. The Gunners were given a 6,000 ticket allocation and getting there was so difficult the club released a statement hitting out at "how extreme the travel challenges are".

Not since the FA Cup showpiece in 2017, then, have the Arsenal fans have a true final occasion to enjoy.

An Arsenal victory over City would further build the connection between fans and players, and strengthen the trust the former have in the latter heading into the home straight of the title race.

That they have not got over the line and done it has been the main criticism of this Arsenal side for the last three-and-a-half years.

The Carabao Cup is not the 'it' that will end those discussions, but it could be the ladder that helps them finally reach the previously allusive top step.