Manchester City win League Cup as O'Reilly sinks Arsenal after Kepa's blunder

Manchester City punished Kepa Arrizabalaga's howler to lift the English League Cup, as Nico O'Reilly's brace sealed a 2-0 win against Arsenal in Sunday's final at Wembley Stadium in London.

Arsenal goalkeeper Kepa already had a tortured relationship with the League Cup and the Spaniard's latest mishap in the tournament final proved decisive.

After allowing Rayan Cherki's cross to slip through his fingers, Kepa presented O'Reilly with a sterling chance to put City ahead in the second half.

O'Reilly struck again just four minutes later to seal City's ninth League Cup triumph, giving manager Pep Guardiola a record fifth triumph in the competition.

Arsenal's Mikel Arteta chose to ignore Kepa's history in the League Cup when he selected the former Chelsea shot-stopper instead of first choice David Raya, but the gamble backfired spectacularly.

Playing for the Blues in the 2019 final, Kepa infamously refused to be substituted just before a shootout and then failed to save a single penalty against City, while he missed a spot kick of his own in a 2022 shootout defeat against Liverpool.

Arsenal's failure to lift a first trophy since the 2020 FA Cup was a painful blow, ending their bid for an unprecedented quadruple.

The Gunners paid the price for Arteta's unnecessarily conservative tactics, but the season is far from over for the north Londoners.

They remain firmly in control of their chase for a first English title since 2004, while also facing Southampton in the English FA Cup quarterfinals and Sporting CP in the UEFA Champions League last eight.

After failing to win any silverware last season and falling well behind Arsenal in this season's Premier League title race, the victory marked a vital success for City, coming just days after their Champions League round of 16 exit against Real Madrid.

Guardiola has yet to confirm whether he will remain at City next season, after another campaign rife with speculation that this could be his last spin at the helm in Manchester.

But the Spaniard's frenzied celebration of his 15th major trophy at City suggested his passion remains undimmed.

Guardiola can now focus on using City's first win over Arsenal since 2023 as a springboard to close the nine-point gap on the Premier League leaders.