An hour after he had greeted Nico O'Reilly's match-winning brace by first booting a Wembley advertising board and then scampering down the touchline like a man half his age, Pep Guardiola cut a contented figure in the aftermath of Sunday's 2-0 Carabao Cup final triumph over Arsenal.
He spoke of "the joy to compete" with an Arsenal team under his old protege Mikel Arteta that he ranks β alongside Bayern Munich and Barcelona β as the best in Europe this season. The whirring mind slowed just enough so that satisfaction could settle for a brief moment or two.
"At the end, the Carabao Cup is not the Champions League or the Premier League, but to win against that team β that team β makes the title special," he said.
It was a silver-flecked end to a difficult couple of weeks for City's manager, who has watched Arsenal extend their advantage in the Premier League and suffered a third Champions League exit in as many seasons at the hands of Real Madrid. His future remains a source of continued speculation
So what, if anything, does a memorable day for the blue half of Manchester mean for the Premier League title race and Guardiola's long-term plans, as his 10th season in charge of City approaches the final stretch with a 19th piece of silverware in the cabinet?
MORE: How Nico O'Reilly stole the show in the 2026 Carabao Cup final
Will Man City win the Premier League?
Probably not, no. Guardiola was quick to dismiss the notion that City's commanding win over Arsenal would exert some sort of profound psychological hold upon the Gunners.
Arteta's side are nine points clear of City in second place, although the Carabao Cup winners do have a game in hand and welcome Arsenal to the Etihad Stadium for a mouth-watering showdown on April 19.
However, the scheduling of that game in hand presents a problem: namely, that it has not been scheduled yet. City were due to play Crystal Palace on Carabao Cup final weekend, whereas Arsenal were set to travel to Wolves. The latter game, which ended in a dramatic 2-2 draw, was moved forward to February 18. City's home match with Palace could not be switched to the same midweek as the Eagles were contesting the Conference League playoff encounter with Zrinjski Mostar.
Palace's progress to the quarterfinals of that competition means there is no slot for the City match before Guardiola's men host Arsenal. The Gunners welcome Bournemouth the weekend before they travel to City, who are away to Chelsea on April 12.The smallest the gap can be before the top two meet in east Manchester is six points, which feels like a more unlikely outcome than the status quo of nine or perhaps double figures.
Pep Guardiola got the better of Mikel Arteta in the EFL Cup final π₯
But it's @Arsenal who have the advantage over @ManCity in the title race πββοΈ pic.twitter.com/4ndqpBN1FD
β Premier League (@premierleague) March 22, 2026
"I would like to have nine points in front of Arsenal," Guardiola said. "I don't know if we would change the trophy for nine points to fight for the Premier League. but no. It will have no impact. Different competitions.
"Will they be more concerned when they come to the Etihad? I don't know what the situation will be. That title will help us a lot for the [FA Cup] quarterfinals against Liverpool [on April 4] at home with our people. Being together and celebrating this game maybe will help us, but the Premier League is in their hands. They have punished us a lot."
Guardiola went on to highlight City's three consecutive draws against Sunderland, Chelsea and Brighton and Hove Albion at the start of 2026, along with their recent back-to-back league stalemates with Nottingham Forest and West Ham United, as key pivot points in the race β moments his players are likely to rue in the final analysis.
Additionally, the Carabao Cup final was only Arsenal's fourth defeat in all competitions this season. They have followed the other setbacks with respective unbeaten runs of 18, 12 and 14 matches. None will have hurt as much as this loss, but if Arteta can navigate the recovery in similar fashion, his team will be champions with something to spare.
MORE: Arteta calls for 'fire in the belly' and calm heads after Arsenal quadruple dream dies
Will Pep Guardiola stay at Man City?
For starters, it's worth pointing out Guardiola has a contract at the Etihad Stadium until June 2027, so there's no need for him to go anywhere. And yet, speculation remains.
Season on season, it has been a feature of Guardiola's reign that he will take stock as every campaign comes to a close. Even his tendency to sign two-year extensions at City has done nothing to dissuade perceptions of an underlying restlessness. He resided at Barcelona on one-year rolling contracts. In some respects, it doesn't feel like he has stayed at City for 10 years; it's as if he's stayed for one year 10 times.
And he pours so much of himself into each one, as evidenced by his maniacal celebrations at the weekend. Did that really look like a man ready to walk away? A report in the Daily Mail last week said the plan was for Guardiola to take this international break to ponder what is best for him and his club. He will do so in the afterglow of a triumph that clearly meant the world to him.
Pep π₯Ή#EFL | #CarabaoCupFinal pic.twitter.com/zO6ebelQdr
β Carabao Cup (@Carabao_Cup) March 22, 2026
"If I cannot celebrate in the moment against that team with the way we are playing⦠emotions are related to the way we are playing," Guardiola said, responding to a question about being booked for his ebullient reaction to O'Reilly's second goal. "It's proof I'm not yet artificial intelligence. I'm a human being, and I can celebrate. I want to celebrate. It's not to not respect Arsenal; I just like to celebrate with my people. Always, I'm a human being and have emotions and when I feel it, like when I shout to the referees or celebrate, I express it."
In previous years, when discussing his City future, Guardiola has frequently pointed to his capacity to "persuade" his players and how strong that does or doesn't remain. Amid the high stress of a Wembley final against the best team in the country right now, a City XI featuring five players who had never won a major honour with the club carried out their coach's instructions to the letter, especially during a brilliant collective display in the second half.
That came in the context of a season where a more transition-dominated and set-piece-heavy Premier League has given Guardiola intriguing new problems to solve.
"I would believe the same even if we lost that game, even when we lost against Madrid. I believe there are patterns you can use to play in the way I love my team to play," he said on Sunday. "Football is so nice because there are a thousand million different styles, that are dictated by the club, by the hierarchies, by the managers, by the players.
"I am truly convinced this is the way I like to see my teams play. Of course, you have to reinvent, there are new tendencies. But I always believe that you can do it β just do it better. Last season, we could not do it and sometimes this season, we cannot do it."
Does that sound like a man ready to leave, with a job half done? City are starting a new cycle and it's up to Guardiola how long he wants to stay in the saddle.