Arsenal suffered a 2-0 defeat to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, with Mikel Arteta's side now needing to regroup his side after major concerns raised
10:05, 25 Mar 2026
LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 22: Nico O'Reilly of Manchester City scores his team's first goal whilst under pressure from Martin Zubimendi of Arsenal as Kepa Arrizabalaga of Arsenal looks on during the Carabao Cup Final match between Arsenal and Manchester City at Wembley Stadium on March 22, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
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Arsenal were poor against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final(Image: Julian Finney, Getty Images)
Arsenal are still grappling with the aftermath of missing out on their first piece of silverware this season. Mikel Arteta's dreams of claiming a quadruple were ended with the 2-0 Carabao Cup final loss to Manchester City on Sunday.
Perhaps more troubling than the scoreline for the Gunners was the way in which they were outclassed by City at Wembley. They will now need to regroup for the vital closing stages of the campaign with three trophies still within reach, including the Premier League, where they hold a nine-point advantage.
The international break arrives at a perfect moment for Arteta's injury-hit squad to refresh ahead of the FA Cup quarter-final encounter with Southampton on April 4. Here, the Daily Star Sport examines two of the latest developments surrounding the north Londoners.
Paul Merson's concerns
LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 22: Kai Havertz of Arsenal looks dejected after Nico O'Reilly of Manchester City (not pictured) scores his team's first goal during the Carabao Cup Final match between Arsenal and Manchester City at Wembley Stadium on March 22, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
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Arsenal have been slammed for their cup final performance(Image: Justin Setterfield, Getty Images)
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Gunners icon Paul Merson reckons the most concerning element of Arsenal's display against City was that 'nobody wanted the ball'. The Gunners endured one of their poorest spells in any match this season during the 20 minutes following the interval, where they struggled to string more than a handful of passes together.
They were missing a calm presence to retain possession and instead continued launching it long towards the opposition, which enabled City to mount wave after wave of attacks before eventually netting twice in rapid succession. Former Arsenal midfielder Merson was left concerned that a comparable problem amongst the outfield players might surface once more this campaign.
He penned in his Sky Sports column: "It's a bad mistake from Kepa, a shocker of a mistake. But he wasn't on the pitch when eight of Arsenal's outfield players were getting ripped to shreds. Only two Arsenal players could walk off the pitch with their heads held high and they were William Saliba and Gabriel. They were outstanding and they couldn't do any more.
"For the other eight players, Kepa's done them a favour because everyone's now talking about him and the mistake. But no-one will talk about the other players not deserving more than a five out of 10. I was at Wembley and what I was watching was: who on Arsenal's team wanted the ball when they were getting beat and it was going horribly wrong? And no-one wanted the ball. Nobody.
"If any of those players want to sit down and watch a video of me and go: I was looking for it here and there, I would say, 'I'm afraid you weren't'. It was pretty worrying."
'Grumpy' Odegaard
LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 22: Martin Odegaard of Arsenal applauds fans after the Carabao Cup Final match between Arsenal and Manchester City at Wembley Stadium on March 22, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Burstow/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
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Martin Odegaard has been called 'grumpy'(Image: Alex Burstow, Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has been described as 'grumpy' owing to his endless injury woes this campaign. The creative midfielder has been absent from his team's previous eight fixtures across all competitions, having battled a persistent shoulder issue this season, subsequently followed by knee problems.
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Odegaard was ruled out of Arsenal's Carabao Cup final loss and will now be unavailable for Norway's upcoming clashes with the Netherlands and Switzerland. The expectation is that the 27-year-old midfielder will continue his recovery work at London Colney and make his comeback in early April, though that hasn't lessened Odegaard's exasperation.
Norway boss Stale Solbakken revealed: "He is very frustrated and grumpy. He has not been involved since we beat Moldova 11-1. It is his last international match. He was not on the field against Israel, Estonia or Italy. It is clear that it hurts.
"Now it's three weeks until Arsenal play again. Or two-and-a-half weeks. I think it could be a goal for Martin to be in a squad then. It's within reach. There is no reason for him to travel now. He has to train. If he wants to use a day off to come here, he is welcome to do so. But it is not something that has been planned."