Not just Kepa: £45m star should never start again for Arsenal after Wembley

Should Arsenal go on to win the Premier League title, then supporters will likely forgive the team for this late-season hiccup at Wembley Stadium.

This was the club’s first final since 2020, their first since Mikel Arteta hoisted the FA Cup trophy in the air. Yet, after a 2-0 defeat in the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City, that remains his only trophy as a manager.

This felt like a big opportunity missed. Pep Guardiola’s men have not been at their free-flowing best this term and were missing three of their main defenders in the form of Josko Gvardiol, Marc Guehi and Ruben Dias.

Alas, it mattered not for the Citizens who powered past Arsenal to lift a sixth League Cup in 11 years. For all of the hate this competition has received throughout the years, Guardiola rarely neglects it. The performance from City on Sunday evening showed as much.

That said, things were certainly made easier for them by Arteta’s selection in goal.

Arteta’s huge Carabao Cup final mistake

Since becoming Arsenal manager, the Spaniard has shown a huge degree of ruthlessness with a lot of his selection decisions.

The way in which Aaron Ramsdale was tossed to one side in favour of David Raya, just months after signing a new contract, is a testament to that.

It’s precisely why his decision to start Kepa Arrizabalaga in Sunday’s final was a questionable one. The former Chelsea man had started every round of the Carabao Cup up to that point and had rarely put a foot wrong.

It felt as though Arteta owed Kepa a start at Wembley but he owed him nothing. What he owed, however, was a trophy to the supporters.

It has been six years since Arsenal last lifted silverware beneath the Wembley arch and he owed it to the fans to play his best team.

While the likes of Martin Odegaard, Eberchi Eze and Jurrien Timber were all injured, Raya was not and he should have started. Had the club’s number 1, one of the world’s premier goalkeepers, started the game, then they may well have walked away with their trophy drought ended.

Sadly, Arteta picked Kepa and it went horribly wrong. Forget the fact that the ‘keeper was limited with his ability to play out from the back a minute; his mistake for the opening goal was simply shocking.

As a cross came in from the right-hand side, the Spanish stopper dropped it right into the path of Nico O’Reilly who could not miss from a matter of yards out.

Kepa has history at Wembley; not good history either. In fact, he has been rather cursed in the League Cup final. In 2019, there was that infamous moment where Chelsea lost on penalties after he refused to be subbed.

Then in 2022, he missed his penalty as they lost to Liverpool in the final. This time, it was another mistake from the Spaniard that cost his team the game.

While Kepa has been the preferred goalkeeper in the FA Cup as well, this must be the last time we see of him in an Arsenal shirt. Arteta cannot afford any more mistakes in the race for a historical treble.

That said, he is not the only player Arteta should ignore.

£45m Arsenal star is facing the exit door

Despite that defeat on Sunday, Arsenal are still facing a hugely successful campaign and that has been born out of increased squad depth.

The Gunners have faced big injuries this term but they have largely been able to ride the wave thanks to how many options they have at their disposal.

However, there have been a few passengers in the team, notably as we approach the back end of the season. Leandro Trossard, for instance, has not scored in 17 straight games. Bukayo Saka has only scored twice since the 3rd December.

In Gabriel Jesus, though, they have a player who is clearly not up to the task of starting regular games of football for Arsenal anymore. Just like Kepa, it would not be a surprise if he is in the dying stages of his time at the Emirates Stadium now.

For the Brazilian, he’s enjoyed and endured a topsy-turvy Arsenal career. When he first arrived from Manchester City in a £45m deal, he looked like the best thing since sliced bread.

He scored five goals and registered six assists in his opening 12 Premier League matches but he has struggled to ever really replicate that form since.

Before suffering a dreadful ACL injury last season, Jesus had started to rediscover himself, notably scoring a hat-trick against Crystal Palace, but the last year has arguably been the toughest of his career to date.

The Brazil international returned and made an immediate impact on proceedings, netting twice in the San Siro against Inter Milan. That said, despite scoring against Leeds, Aston Villa and Wigan Athletic, he is on a dreadful run of form.

Jesus has not been seen across any of the last four league matches, sitting on the bench as an unused substitute. Even when he has played, the 28-year-old has scored just once in his last five appearances. He only made an eight-minute cameo against Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie and made another eight-minute outing against City in the cup final.

His cameo, however, simply has to be the final straw. Preferred over the mercurial Max Dowman, who had become the Premier League’s youngest-ever scorer just eight days prior, Jesus had just nine touches and completed four passes. He did manage a shot that hit the woodwork but truth be told, the game was already done by that point.

Arsenal may well have missed a spark on Sunday but Jesus is not it. With Viktor Gyokeres and Kai Havertz ahead of him in the pecking order, it would be a surprise if the Brazilian star played another minute for the club, let alone started another game. If Arsenal need something from the bench, then as was the case against Everton, Dowman must be preferred.

Arteta must learn from the lesson that Sunday provided: play your best players. Kepa and Jesus do not fit into that category.

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Arsenal suffered defeat in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley.