Arsenal's hopes for a historic quadruple were ended at Wembley, with Manchester City running out deserved 2-0 winners to claim Pep Guardiola his fifth Carabao Cup trophy since becoming Manchester City manager.
Following a cagey first half in which chances for both sides were limited, the Gunners failed to apply themselves after the break and Nico O'Reilly was the unlikely match winner for the Citizens, converting two headers in the space of four minutes.
Mikel Arteta will be hoping his side can erase the encounter from their memories and push on after the upcoming international break in the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.
Here are four things we from the final.
Arsenal's Second Half Collapse
Whilst they definitely weren't at their best in the opening 45 minutes, the North London outfit started on the front foot, leading to an excellent early opportunity for Kai Havertz after some nice play down their right flank, all while limiting Manchester City at the other end, mainly due to some stellar defending from William Saliba.
But after the interval, it was as if a different set of 11 players had entered the pitch, shrinking deeper and deeper with every City attack and allowing the pressure on the Arsenal backline to grow and, in turn, increase the decibel levels of those fans draped in sky blue.
So when O'Reilly stepped up to capitalise on a Kepa Arrizabalaga error, before converting just four minutes later to double his sides' advantage, it was too late for the Premier League leaders, who in fact gave very little in terms of a reaction.
Kepa Arrizablaga's Inclusion Backfires
A topic of serious debate in the build up to this final was if Arteta would continue to play his designated 'cup' goalkeeper in such a big game for the club, instead of bringing in his first choice shot stopper David Raya.
Having come under little threat in the first half, Kepa proceeded to take a lot of time on the ball after the interval, encouraging the Citizens to step further up the pitch.
A nervy misjudgement led to a yellow card for a foul on Jeremy Doku, before the Spaniard then let a Rayan Cherki cross slip through his grasp, gifting O'Reilly the opening goal.
Arteta Gets His Substitutions Wrong
Having to cope without club captain Martin Odegaard and summer arrival Eberechi Eze due to injury, Arteta was forced into starting Havertz in the number 10 position behind Viktor Gyokeres, and so lacked control and creativity in the midfield.
Gabriel Martinelli and Noni Madueke, who were expected to bring that extra energy and creativity, were then introduced too late to have any real impact on proceedings with the score already 2-0.
Piero Hincapie also received an early yellow card and struggled against the pace and trickery of Antoine Semenyo, but wasn't replaced by Ricardo Calafiori until the 67th minute, once again with the Gunners already trailing by two.
A Look Towards the Future
Whilst Arsenal players and fans will be bitterly disappointed with the result and the performance at Wembley, Arteta's men will have two weeks until they return to club football, following an international break.
The squad must try and move on from only their fourth defeat of the season in all competitions, as they are still best placed to challenge for all three remaining trophies up for grabs, and with hopefully a fit Odegaard returning soon alongside Jurrien Timber, and Eze, the Gunners will be adding much needed firepower.
Beating a Pep Guardiola side in a final is never an easy feat, and so looking ahead to the future and the possibility of greatness should be the message from the Arsenal boss, as they have some massive fixtures coming up.