Manchester United icon Paul Scholes gave his verdict on Arsenal's defeat to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final, where Kepa Arrizabalaga was at fault for the first goal on the day
Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes has had his say on Arsenal's defeat in the Carabao Cup final(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA, Getty Images)
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Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has explained why he believes the criticism directed at Kepa Arrizabalaga has “deflected” Arsenal’s performance in the Carabao Cup final.
The Gunners suffered a 2-0 defeat to City at Wembley Stadium on Sunday afternoon with a second-half brace from Nico O’Reilly.
City’s first goal came after Kepa dropped the ball from an attempted cross, which led to O’Reilly nodding home within the six-yard box to give Pep Guardiola’s side an early lead.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta gave Kepa a start in the final at Wembley, with the goalkeeper retaining his spot as the regular shot-stopper for the Carabao Cup this season.
Scholes, though, has given his verdict on the criticism that has been directed at Kepa, using City goalkeeper James Trafford - who started in place of Gianluigi Donnarumma - to make his point.
“I think it’s deflected how bad they [Arsenal] were, because everyone is talking about the goalkeeper,“ Scholes said on The Good, the Bad & the Football podcast.
He added: “Look at the other end where Trafford played instead of Donnarumma, had three brilliant saves. Two completely different ends of the scale.”
Scholes went on to give his opinion on Arsenal’s set-piece strategy, as well as a verdict on how it may be affecting Bukayo Saka.
“Their better players just weren’t performing,” Scholes said.
“You talk about these forward players not performing but you have to look at your midfield players and your centre-halves, they couldn’t get the ball to them.
“Did you see the bit where Bernardo Silva sprinted out to try to stop it going for a corner? Even when you’re playing against it, you don’t want to give it away.”
Kepa's error led to Man City's first goal in the Carabao Cup final
Kepa's error led to Man City's first goal in the Carabao Cup final(Image: 2026 Getty Images)
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He added: “What we’re saying is, I think they’ve become obsessed with it. They’ve forgot about the other way that they can actually score goals.
‘They’ve got good players. You’ve got Saka who looks lost at the minute because they can’t get the ball to him, more than anything, he’s got great ability.”
Arsenal still have three more chances to win a major trophy this season, with the Gunners holding a nine-point advantage at the top of the Premier League table over City.
Arteta and Co. also have two quarter-finals on the horizon after the international break, with Southampton awaiting in the FA Cup and Sporting Lisbon their next opponents in the Champions League.
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