Before losing to Man City in the League Cup final, Arsenal’s last loss came against Michael Carrick’s Man Utd, and Pep Guardiola studied that game religiously.
A lot of questions have been asked about Michael Carrick’s tactical skills because people are eager to paint him with the same brush as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Necessary context gets missed that the tactical tweaks he makes from game-to-game are key to victories, and the wins he achieves age like wine.
Pep Guardiola is the latest to borrow from Carrick’s playbook to outwit Mikel Arteta in the Carabao Cup final, which is the ultimate vindication of Carrick’s genius.
Arsenal v Manchester United - Premier League
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Michael Carrick celebrates after the Premier League match between Everton and Manchester United at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in 2026 in Liverpool, England.
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Michael Carrick’s genius plan to beat Arsenal
Guardiola is (in)famous for overthinking in marquee games, which often leads to his own team’s demise when the lights are the brightest.
He made a tactical change again in the final against Arsenal, but this time, he pivoted to a tactic that had already succeeded earlier against Arsenal.
When Carrick took his Man Utd squad to The Emirates Stadium in just his second game in charge, nobody gave Man Utd a chance.
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Arsenal hadn’t lost at home (still haven’t), and United were in a brutal UCL qualification race they were outsiders for.
However, Carrick drilled the team remarkably well, exploiting Arsenal’s weaknesses by breaking the trend of how everyone faced them.
One of United’s goals came from a high press, but that was one of the few times United tried to press high, because they did so only when they knew the passing lanes behind them were cut off.
There was no man-to-man marking and high-pressing, which would have allowed Arsenal to play through those gaps and move forward.
Instead, United sat in a mid-block just ahead of their own box, and Arsenal’s toothlessness with the ball was exposed brutally.
Arteta’s desire to minimise risk on the ball means Arsenal players rarely play a risky pass or break into a mazy dribble.
Therefore, as long as you don’t run at them to win the ball back but maintain shape, they will continue to play sideways passes in front of you.
Carrick did that to perfection, and Guardiola borrowed from that playbook to outwit Arteta again.
Guardiola borrowed from Carrick’s playbook in Carabao Cup final
As soon as the Carabao Cup final kicked off, City’s intent became extremely clear, and the similarities to that Arsenal game against United were uncanny.
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City did dominate possession, unlike United, but that was more down to the quality of players available to Guardiola instead of a concentrated plan.
Whenever Arsenal tried to play the ball out from the back to bait City’s press, Guardiola’s instructions were crystal clear.
No City player engaged the Arsenal CBs, who kept passing the ball between themselves because City retreated into a mid-block.
They closed the spaces between the lines much like Carrick’s United, and Arsenal’s fear of taking risks caused them to launch it upfield often instead of trying to play through the lines.
Arsenal kept ceding possession due to this style of play, and City controlled the game from start to finish, leaving Arteta completely bamboozled.
After an era of Jurgen Klopp-inspired “Gegenpressing” dominating the Premier League landscape, players and teams have devised numerous ways to counter it.
The new era will be of the mid-block and transition, as football tactics come full circle. Carrick’s genius was on display against Arsenal as he introduced it in style.
Guardiola has now copied it to give Carrick’s tactical acumen the ultimate vindication.
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