Jamie Rednapp was left in disbelief at the “monumental error” that Mikel Arteta made in Arsenal‘s Carabao Cup final defeat against Manchester City.
Arsenal’s wait for silverware continues at Wembley
Nico O’Reilly scored twice in five stunning second-half minutes to fire Manchester City to victory in the Carabao Cup final and derail Arsenal’s quadruple bid.
Stand-in Arsenal goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga gifted City their first when he fumbled Rayan Cherki’s cross on the hour mark, with O’Reilly on hand to head home from close range.
A rampant City then doubled their advantage just four minutes later after O’Reilly converted Matheus Nunes’ cross to send Pep Guardiola dancing along the touchline.
Riccardo Calafiori hit a post and Gabriel Jesus struck the crossbar as Arsenal went in search of a response, but City saw out the victory as Guardiola landed the 19th trophy of his remarkable 10-season City tenure.
Arteta’s Arsenal headed into Sunday’s final hoping to finish the season with an unprecedented four trophies, as well as ending their six-year wait for silverware.
But Sunday’s damaging defeat at Wembley will do little to ease their tag as the ‘nearly men’ and also raise significant questions over the remainder of their campaign.
City are nine points behind Arsenal in the race for the Premier League title but they have a game in hand on Arteta’s side, who also have to travel to the Etihad Stadium next month.
Arteta will have been intent on silencing the doubters to claim just the second trophy of his tenure and his first in nearly six years. But the Spaniard was served a sobering lesson by his one-time mentor Guardiola.
Redknapp slams “monumental error” by Arteta
It was especially an afternoon to forget for Kepa, who has once again endured a nightmare time at Wembley. From his substitution antics under Maurizio Sarri to his penalty miss against Liverpool, the last thing that the Spaniard needed was another error on the big stage.
That is, however, exactly what happened when he fumbled into the path of O’Reilly to find the opening goal. It came just moments after he was forced to foul Jeremy Doku in an erratic few minutes.
Redknapp slammed Arteta for starting Kepa, dubbing it a “monumental error” and saying “you have to take responsibility” for that decision.
It is a call that Arteta will be regretting, with the chance to end Arsenal’s trophy drought passing him by. With the international break to reflect, the Spaniard will hope to get back on track by striving towards the Premier League title.
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There’s also the small matter of the Champions League and FA Cup after Arsenal advanced past Bayer Leverkusen. Whether Kepa features in either of those competitions remains to be seen, however.