Manchester City take on Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final and are in a much better position than they were a year ago
Manchester City's Portuguese defender #03 Ruben Dias, Manchester City's Brazilian midfielder #26 Savinho, Manchester City's Portuguese midfielder #27 Matheus Nunes, Manchester City's English midfielder #47 Phil Foden, Manchester City's Portuguese midfielder #20 Bernardo Silva and Manchester City's Croatian defender #24 Josko Gvardiol applauds the fans following the UEFA Champions League football match between Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on November 5, 2025. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP) (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)
Manchester City players have been 'on the same boat' this season
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When Newcastle beat Liverpool to win last year's Carabao Cup final, Manchester City were in a mess. They had drawn at home to Brighton the previous day, having lost limply away to Nottingham Forest the previous week.
With just two wins from six Premier League games that included a surrender at Anfield and a mauling at the Emirates, the Blues were outside of the Champions League places and Pep Guardiola was publicly questioning whether his players realised the improvement that was needed if they were going to secure a top-four target that was their minimum requirement.
With Arne Slot showing Liverpool there could be trophies after Jurgen Klopp, the City ship looked to be sinking fast despite a new contract signed by Guardiola when their troubles began. So it is to the credit of many that the Blues arrive at Wembley for their first Carabao Cup final in five years looking back on course.
Even if the shaky results of the last few weeks do not make it feel that way, City are in a much better place now. They are 13 points better off in the Premier League and fighting for a title, and despite more disappointment against Real Madrid they had been one of the top eight teams in the first Champions League phase.
Much will be made of the £440m that the club have spent since January 2025 to rescue their position, but some of the most importance changes have come from the players that were already at the Etihad. Bernardo Silva as captain with Ruben Dias as his second in command have reset standards in a dressing room that slipped after so much success, from celebrating moments together in matches to making sure everyone turns up on time for training and meetings.
"We talked about it and it was something we did and I feel like it's taken a very much better route now and it was needed," Dias said. "Lots of things changed after that period, we need to set the standard for a new season. It was needed and I felt like we did it at the right time.
"I feel like sometimes, while winning, you get into certain patterns that are working in the moment but then there's always - and this goes in behaviours day to day, it goes in tactics, it goes everywhere in football, as it goes in life - an update, sometimes doing something different again.
"By doing so you commit everyone to it, you put everyone on the same boat, same mentality, same standards and same responsibilities and I feel like it was more than anything about that. On the pitch, body language, it's so important.
"Discipline in the everyday - every day be on time, that kind of stuff. It's part of being in this club, the way we deal with all the things that are happening while performing obviously on the pitch but mostly off the pitch, on the day to day, when the news is on and these kind of things where we try and isolate ourselves and focus on what we have to do because that's the only thing we should be focused on."
Ever since the Club World Cup, Guardiola has spoken positively about the atmosphere in the squad. Whatever happens this season, it is a team that he loves again and respects for the effort they have shown both individually and collectively.
But as well as fighting Arsenal this season - a tough enough battle on its own - they are also battling against the weight of City's extraordinary record in the last 10 years. This season has rightly been seen as a reset, yet there is little time allowed for transition with a club and a growing fanbase that expects trophies and glory.
The Carabao Cup was Guardiola's first trophy in English football and helped set the standard for a team that would go hard at every competition and challenge others to do the same. It is important in its own right, but also for what else it can lead to.
Given Sunday's opponents are also leading the way in the Premier League and have to visit the Etihad next month, it feels like there is a lot riding on this final in terms of what it could do for the rest of City's season but also as a marker of how successful their rebirth has been.
As the players look around in the Wembley dressing room, Dias will be there to tell them to forget about all of that and just focus on the 90 minutes that are in front of them.
"Obviously arriving to that game there's still a lot to play but then but arriving to that game we'll know that it's another trophy," he said. "Obviously it's a special final because it's against one of our main rivals. The message is clear. We go there, we want to win it and we know what we have to do.
"When that game arrives, and that game will obviously be a massive final for us, that will be the only thing that matters then. In terms of everything else, if we do it right then we're not even thinking about it. The goal is to isolate it, know that there's a trophy there to grab and do everything we can to do it."