Arsenal duo Hincapie and Trossard on the League Cup final and the title race | OneFootball

Piero Hincapie insists Arsenal are fully focused on ending their long wait for silverware when they face Manchester City in Sunday’s League Cup final at Wembley.

Manager Mikel Arteta last lifted a major trophy in 2020’s FA Cup Final triumph over Chelsea. Now they have the chance of winning the first leg of an unprecdented quadruple.

And his outstanding Ecuadorian defender has made a big impression since arriving on loan from Bayer Leverkusen last summer. He played a key role in Arsenal’s Champions League victory over his former club – a result that sealed their place in the quarter-finals.

While pleased with the achievement, Hincapie admitted it came with mixed emotions.

“I’m really excited to have qualified for the quarter-finals with my club,” he said. “I’m also a bit sad because it was against my former club. But this is football and I’m really happy now.”

Arsenal’s season is building momentum on multiple fronts. They sit top of the Premier League, are into the FA Cup quarter-finals and now face Sporting Club in Europe. But attention has quickly turned to Wembley, where they have the chance to secure their first trophy of the campaign.

“We’re really focused on the final, which is a very important final,” Hincapié said. “We’re going to train very hard to get to the final in the best way possible and to win the title. That’s the most important thing.”

He also reflected on the standout moment of the win over Leverkusen – Eberechi Eze’s stunning opening goal.

“It was amazing,” he said. “It was a good goal. Fantastic.”

Sporting came back from three goals down to beat Bodo/Glimt in their round of 16 fixture. Arsenal forward Leandro Trossard was full of praise for the Portuguese side.

“Good for them how they turned it around,” he said. “I don’t think it was easy. After the international break, that’s something to prepare for, but now it’s for Sunday.”

Asked if he realised it was Eze’s first Champions League goal, Hincapie smiled: “Yeah? I don’t know. It was an amazing goal.”

With Premier League title rivals City providing formidable opposition, Hincapie expects a tough contest but insists Arsenal’s focus will not waver.

“I don’t know,” he said when asked about the wider impact on the title race. “It’s going to be a very difficult game. We’re very focused on wanting to win it, but we have to work hard to win the title.”

Trossard also spoke about the importance of the final on Sunday.

“From now on we work to Sunday’s [Carabao] cup final and trying to lift the cup – that’s one of our objectives,” he said.