Manchester City Stun Arsenal to win Carabao Cup final as O'Reilly scores two goals in four minutes
Source by : Sky News Hub
Sunday 22 March 2026 20:21, UK
Manchester City Stun Arsenal to win Carabao Cup final as O'Reilly scores two goals in four minutes
City's manager Pep Guardiola described the 2-0 win as "special", while Arsenal's boss Mikel Arteta said he was "very sad" at the result, adding the loss was "a hard one to take".
Manchester City's Nico O'Reilly celebrates after scoring his first goal at Wembley. Pic: PA
Arsenal have been beaten in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley with Manchester City's young full-back, Nico O'Reilly, stunning their rivals with two goals in four minutes.
Despite Arsenal being nine points clear of their rivals at the top of the Premier League table, it puts an end to their hopes of a quadruple, winning all four major trophies in a season.
After a goalless first half, O'Reilly opened the scoring in the 60th minute when Arsenal keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga fumbled the ball into his path from a few yards out.
Four minutes later, O'Reilly scored again, doubling City's advantage.
Arsenal went into the cup final still in contention for an unprecedented, but unlikely, quadruple.
Sky Sports analysis: Arsenal vs Man City
After a less-than-successful season so far, Manchester City were hoping to pick up some silverware. The win marks a record fifth League Cup success for Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.
Pep: Trophy win was 'special'
Guardiola told Sky Sports that "when you win a trophy it's important. But this was special because we've had a tough two weeks and especially because of the opponent.
"The first 15 minutes they suffocated us. We could not breathe. After that, we started to play."
Despite being goalless in the first half, both sides had chances with Erling Haaland heading over from short range and City's keeper James Trafford pulling off a triple save to keep Arsenal out.
O'Reilly 'buzzing' after birthday goals
O'Reilly said he was "absolutely buzzing" after scoring both goals on the same weekend as his 21st birthday.
"Unbelievable feeling to win a final and beat this team. We know how good they [Arsenal] are. Now we need to build on it. It will give us good momentum," he told Sky Sports.
Sky Sports' Gary Neville said: "City have been fantastic in this second half. There were many like myself who fancied Arsenal this afternoon, but Arteta will be bewildered with how his team have performed."
That was also the sentiment from Sky Sports' Jamie Redknapp: "City were by far the better team. Arsenal didn't have an answer. They missed [captain Martin] Odegaard, no [Eberechi] Eze [both absent because of injury], they had no real cohesion, no pace up front."
Redknapp: Playing Raya 'backfired'
Redknapp was also critical of Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta's decision to play Arrizabalaga instead of David Raya in goal.
"He's not a bad goalkeeper but he's not as good as Raya. It has backfired big time," Redknapp said.
But after the match, Arteta defended his decision: "I have to do what I think is right which is honest and fair. Kepa is an outstanding keeper, and it would've been very unfair on him to do something different.
"I'm very sad [at the result]. It's a hard one to take. We know how much it means and how much we wanted it. The fact we haven't managed to deliver that is disappointing and leaves a bad taste," he added.
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