Manchester City picked up their first trophy of the season after beating Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday.
The Gunners were the better side in the opening 20 minutes, but the Cityzens grew in confidence as the game progressed.
A Kepa Arrizabalaga error saw Nico O’Reilly open the scoring at the hour mark. The Man City graduate doubled the lead soon after.
Arsenal failed to recover from the deficit and suffered a disappointing League Cup final defeat.
Speaking after the victory, Rodri said that Man City made a statement by beating the team in the ‘best form’.
The Spanish midfielder added that the club’s Champions League exit offers more time to prepare for matches.
The former Atletico Madrid man believes Man City could use that as ‘an incentive’ to challenge the Gunners for the Premier League title.
He said(via Beanyman Sports): “We knew today was a very important match, not only because of what the title means, but also because of what it means to beat the team in best form.
“It’s a game not only for this title, but to show that we can beat them. There’s still a long way to go, and it’s clear we didn’t want to get off the Champions League train.
“We’ve been eliminated but we have to look at the positive side that we have more time to prepare for the matches. That’s an incentive to take into account and we’ll fight until the end.”
Arsenal still have title destiny in their own hands
The Gunners were second-best during the second half against Man City in the League Cup final. They invited pressure, and a goalkeeping mistake eventually broke the deadlock.
Another poor bit of defensive marking paved the way for the Cityzens’ second goal. As a result, Arsenal were unable to end their trophy drought, which has extended to almost six years.
Regardless, Arsenal are still in a good position in the league with seven matches to play. They are nine points clear of Man City at the top of the table. Pep Guardiola’s side have a game in hand.
The Gunners will face off against the Cityzens at the Etihad Stadium in mid-April, and manager Mikel Arteta will no doubt expect a better performance from his players in Manchester.
Arsenal can afford to drop five points and remain top of the table. Even a couple of losses could see them first in the standings, given their superior goal difference at the moment (+7).
Hence, a lot needs to go wrong for Arsenal to fail in their pursuit of a long-awaited league title. The Gunners have a better schedule on paper and must pile more pressure with wins.
Arsenal play first in the next gameweek against Bournemouth at home. They can go 12 points clear at the top before Man City face a testing challenge against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com