Manchester City icon Micah Richards has suggested that Mikel Arteta’s decision to persist with Piero Hincapie contributed to Arsenal’s 2-0 EFL Cup final defeat earlier on Sunday (March 22).
During the 2025-26 EFL Cup summit clash, Arsenal were outplayed by Manchester City at Wembley Stadium. The Premier League leaders conceded two second half goals, both netted by Nico O’Reilly after the hour-mark.
Thanks for the submission!
Gunners shot-stopper Kepa Arrizabalaga was at fault for O’Reilly’s first goal as the Spaniard let a cross slip between his hands in the 60th minute. However, Richards has stated that Hincapie’s presence at left-back allowed Rayan Cherki to cross the ball from his team’s right flank.
Speaking on ‘The Rest Is Football’ podcast, Richards claimed that Hincapie should have been substituted off way before his departure in the 65th minute. He said (h/t Arsenal Insider):
“I’ve been in that position, when you have a yellow card as a defender, you take away all your attributes. Hincapie, his attributes, he reads the game well, he’s aggressive, but he gets out to people quickly.”
The 2011-12 Premier League title-winning defender added:
“And for the goal, I think, if he hadn’t been on a yellow card, he would have gone to the ball. That’s where I think Arteta got it wrong in the game, when you’ve got left-backs on the bench, you have to use them.”
After O’Reilly netted his second goal in the 64th minute of the EFL Cup final, Arteta replaced Hincapie with Riccardo Calafiori. But, the Gunners manager failed to turn the tide in the final half hour, much to his fans’ dismay.
Arsenal superstar told to change position after lacklustre performance in EFL Cup final
Ex-Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur man Jamie Redknapp has suggested Bukayo Saka should play in a new position to improve his form. He said on Sky Sports (h/t Metro):
“The player that I feel right now who isn’t performing to the level that he can is Saka. Of late, I haven’t seen that sort of guile and imagination and skill and goals that we need to see from him and he’s got Max Dowman breathing down his neck, Noni Madueke can play down that right-hand side as well. I think maybe even playing down the left sometimes (can help) Saka.”
Wearing the armband, Saka produced a sub-par performance in the EFL Cup final. He completed 11 of his 15 passes, recorded three shots, and won just six of his 16 overall duels against Pep Guardiola’s team.
So far this campaign, the left-footed inverted winger has registered nine goals and seven assists in 42 total matches for Arsenal.
Edited by Debkalpa Banerjee