Nico O'Reilly's double of headers proved sufficient to deliver Guardiola's fifth Carabao Cup success. For Arteta, it represented a sluggish display which ended Arsenal's attempt to claim a historic quadruple. Following the final whistle, Guardiola pulled up Saka, Eze and Jesus in the tunnel. He shared a cordial embrace with the trio, exchanging handshakes with Saka and embracing Eze, who was absent from the final due to a calf injury.
Guardiola also spoke with Jesus, the player he allowed to join the Gunners during the summer of 2022. Their interactions seemed warm and amicable, with Eze grinning throughout.
Unsurprisingly, nobody in the capital wore a wider smile than Guardiola. His team entered the Wembley clash as underdogs, yet they comprehensively outperformed the laboured Gunners.
For Arteta, it represents a significant setback which prolongs his trophy drought. Whilst Arsenal have threatened to claim the Premier League during the past four seasons, Arteta remains without a major honour since lifting the FA Cup shortly after succeeding Unai Emery.
While Arsenal remain in the FA Cup and the Champions League, and also lead the Premier League by nine points, Sunday's final presented a significant chance to break their trophy drought. Following the match, Arteta attempted to encourage supporters to focus on the broader, more optimistic outlook, despite the lacklustre performance.
He said: "Well, especially to have some perspective on it and what this team has done in the last eight months has been incredible and we're going to use this disappointment and this fire in the belly to have the most amazing two months that we have ever together.
"That's on us and we'll manage that energy in the right way. Now we have to go through that pain and disappointment and it's normal and it's part of football.
"For sure, there will be a lot of aspects that we will discuss. There will be a lot of aspects that we need to discuss, I think we have to reflect on that, bring the temperature down a little bit and we will discuss that."