Arsenal lost 2-0 to rivals Man City in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, their first chance to win silverware this season.
The Gunners weren’t able to score at Wembley in what was an overall poor performance from Mikel Arteta‘s side. They struggled on the ball, and were victims to a dominant Man City display in the second half.
Nico O’Reilly scored twice to make it 2-0 to City, and the Arsenal players and fans were forced to watch the first piece of silverware of the season go to their title rivals. Arteta will be glad of an international break now, and he’ll hope that his side can bounce back when they return next month.
Arsenal fans took to X to react to the game…
Very poor performance, not the standard for a final.
To me, Kepa wasn’t even the main problem. How do you allow your team to be dominated like that in a final?
It’s a reality check, we’re not that team yet.
How do you lose to this Manchester City side like that in a final?…
— Oluwakayode🇨🇦 (@Khaytweets) March 22, 2026
Tough one to take. Losing 2–0 in a final hurts, especially with what was at stake. But the effort was there, the fight didn’t drop. We learn, we stick together, and we go again. pic.twitter.com/VrlUoRuwZF
— ѕαмℓιтє (@Samlite_) March 22, 2026
Arteta is a very tactically limited coach, and it’s time people stopped overhyping him. How do you have a fully fit, naturally attacking left-back like Calafiori and still choose to start Hincapié, whose main strength is just blocking the ball? Where is the logic in that?
Then…
— MASHIMARO (@Jeremy812933805) March 22, 2026
It’s not the end of the road. We go again after the international break. 7 games to go in the league.
— WelBeast (@WelBeast) March 22, 2026
This man needs to step up
My patience is running out. pic.twitter.com/viKBXRTtzG— zola (@zola_254) March 22, 2026
You cannot gift a team like Manchester City a goal in a cup final and expect to survive. That Kepa mistake completely killed our momentum. Furious. Absolutely furious. 😡😤
We completely collapsed after that first goal. Zero fight, zero urgency. Unacceptable performance for a…— Rizzo (@Rizzeyy_) March 22, 2026
Arsenal lead Man City in the title race
The silver lining for the Gunners is that they have a nine point lead in the Premier League title race over Man City, and that they are fully in control to win the league title for the first time since the 2003/04 season.
Arteta will be desperate for his side to bounce back after the break when the Gunners face an FA Cup quarter-final against Southampton, and then a Champions League quarter-final against Sporting CP.
