The first major trophy of the English footballing calendar has been won by Manchester City. Pep Guardiola's side were able to beat Arsenal 2-0 in the Carabao Cup final.
The defeat will come as a blow to Mikel Arteta, who was aiming for his first piece of silverware since lifting the FA Cup in 2020. The Gunners are still favourites to win the Premier League, but City will no doubt feel now emboldened as they look to close a nine-point gap in their final eight matches.
One of the big talking points ahead of the game was about the goalkeepers. Both backup choices, Kepa Arrizabalaga and James Trafford, were handed starts in the final, with usual No.1s David Raya and Gianluigi Donnarumma left on the bench.
Although both coaches made the same decision to rotate, Arteta is now facing criticism after Arrizabalaga made a notable error, letting the ball slip through his fingers, as Nico O'Reilly opened the scoring.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta during Mansfield Town v Arsenal Related
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Mikel Arteta has been criticised for picking Kepa Arrizabalaga against Man City, but Piers Morgan thinks another Arsenal star was the wrong choice.
Rio Ferdinand Highlights Big Arsenal Issue vs Man City
Mikel Arteta
Talking about the League Cup final on his podcast, Rio Ferdinand has criticised Arteta’s ‘sentimental’ decision to drop Raya. He spoke about the difference in quality between Arsenal's two goalkeepers, calling Raya the ‘best in the world’ for his position.
Interestingly enough, he highlighted Arsenal's inability to bypass Man City's press as a key aspect of the game that hurt the Gunners. He claimed Arrizabalaga's distribution was an issue, explaining: "We can talk about Kepa’s mistake but those can happen in any game. But more than anything he was the big issue in terms of Arsenal getting through the press.
"I think right now David Raya is the best goalkeeper in world football and if he plays, his distribution would have been a big, big factor in that game. He would have played over Man City’s press, he would have played through at times, he would have taken risks and would have been able to put an element of doubt into City’s press.
"Giving an opposition that kind of mindset makes them less convinced sometimes and gives them less conviction when they’re trying to carry out Pep’s tactical approach. Arsenal didn’t deal with that bit of pressure one bit."
Ferdinand Criticises Arteta’s ‘Sentimental’ Cup Final Call
Rio Ferdinand
Rio Ferdinand
Discussing Arteta’s decision to start Arrizabalaga in more detail, Ferdinand claimed that he doesn't agree with the decision. He felt that Man City could afford to do it, as they've won trophies recently – with this being the 40th trophy of Guardiola's career – but felt that it was a mistake for Arsenal, who have won just one major honour under Arteta:
"I think Mikel Arteta will look back and think he was too sentimental. I know he’s played in the previous rounds but I don’t agree with it. Man City could afford to because they’ve won enough trophies recently but Arsenal are trying to build a winning culture.
"This was a big moment, the first trophy on offer in the season and he’s let it slip through his fingers. The mistake was bad but tactically it was obvious to see that David Raya would have been a mark-up because of his ability with his feet.
"We can talk about how good Raya is at shot-stopping and claiming crosses but his bravery on the ball has been sensational this year and that would have altered Man City’s tactics."
He added: "Arsenal have been a confident back-four and Raya makes it a confident back-five. The frailties at the back given Kepa’s mistake and his inability to play out was glaring to see."
It's no great shock, however, that Arteta defended his decision. Speaking after the game, he said: "I made a decision before the game based on what he has done all season, the fact he has played in the competition and helped us be where we are today.
"It would have been very unfair to choose a different one. I have to do what I feel is right, honest and fair. I believe it’s the right thing to do and that’s it. Errors are part of football and today it happened unfortunately in a crucial moment."