Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Man City: Arteta’s Act of Faith Backfires Spectacularly

Arsenal unraveled in a 2–0 defeat to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final.

It was a painful afternoon for those of an Arsenal persuasion. | Rob Newell/CameraSport/Getty Images

LONDON — Arsenal were condemned to a 2–0 defeat by Manchester City in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final after a blunder from stand-in goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Mikel Arteta was under no obligation to stick with the shot-stopper simply because he had played every other round of the competition. He may even have been caught in two minds as, unlike his opposite number Pep Guardiola, he refused to reveal who would be patrolling the posts pregame. In the end, Arteta showed some faith in Kepa, who promptly tossed it back in his face.

With the final still goalless after an hour, Arrizabalaga let Rayan Cherki’s cross (and Arsenal’s hopes) squirm through his grasp, presenting Nico O’Reilly with the game’s opening goal. The homegrown fullback would add a second from a very similar position just four minutes later, capitalizing upon the scattered minds of an Arsenal side which unraveled rapidly at Wembley.

---

One Thing We Can’t Ignore

Kepa Arrizabalaga will not want to watch City’s first goal back. | Glyn KIRK/AFP/Getty Images

What is it about Kepa and Carabao Cup finals? Seven years on from the infamous night he refused to be substituted by Chelsea’s Maurizio Sarri ahead of a penalty shootout which Manchester City would win, the defiant Spaniard spent another evening cursing the bitter taste of Thailand’s second-most popular energy drink.

No one forced Arteta to leave David Raya, unquestionably one of the best goalkeepers on the planet, among the substitutes. There would be no chance to turn to him mid-game: Everyone knows that when you start Kepa there’s no way he can be taken off.

Whether Arteta’s decision to stand by his Basque custodian was influenced by Guardiola’s pre-warned pick of James Trafford is impossible to know. The Gunners boss explained that it was “the right thing to do” and “only fair.” But while City’s backup stepped up, Arsenal’s dropped the ball, quite literally.

The Gunners had enjoyed the better of Sunday’s first half, magnificently muzzling the perennial Carabao Cup champions while also carving open chances of their own. The only issue was Trafford, who made three fine saves in one chaotic passage of play in the seventh minute.

Kepa would end the game with more wrestling moves (two) than saves (zero). A basic misjudgment of a bouncing ball forced the former Chelsea man to haul Jérémy Doku to the turf early on in the second half, setting the tone for a far more scatty performance from all those in red after the break.

It would be unfair to pin the blame of Arsenal’s reverse solely on the disconsolate figure of Kepa. The Gunners’ entire left side should take their fair share of criticism for being undone by the most textbook City move imaginable—there is no conceivable reality where Cherki’s underlapping run wasn’t part of Arteta’s prematch tactical briefing.

Yet, this sport can be cruelly singular sometimes and Kepa made it incredibly easy to single himself out.

---

Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Man City (4-2-3-1)

Gabriel was up for the physical battle right from the off. | Alex Burstow/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

*Ratings provided by FotMob*

GK: Kepa Arrizabalaga—5.1: There was a haunted look about Kepa at the final whistle, striding around with his chest out, squirting a water bottle into his mouth while staring into the middle distance perhaps wondering where it all went wrong. Catching the ball would be one place to start.

RB: Ben White—6.1: Stepping in for the injured Jurriën Timber, White often found himself caught between two blue bus stops; never sure whether to push up on the inverted O’Reilly or track Doku out wide. It wasn’t a good look that both of City’s goals came at the back post White was nominally guarding.

CB: William Saliba—7.2: Limited Haaland for the vast majority of the contest. Unlucky to be on the losing side at the end of a titanic battle.

CB: Gabriel Magalhães—6.3: A man of his word, Gabriel planted two hands squarely in Haaland’s chest within five seconds of kickoff. Saliba did much of the hard work thereafter, leaving Gabriel to mop up elsewhere.

LB: Piero Hincapié—5.8: Booked barely 15 minutes into the final, Hincapié played with a notable and uncharacteristic air of hesitancy when going head-to-head with Antoine Semenyo thereafter. It was no coincidence that both of O’Reilly’s goals came down his flank.

CM: Martín Zubimendi—6.2: Started superbly but, like Arsenal collectively, became increasingly frazzled by City’s narrow press. For the first time this season, Zubimendi’s pass completion rate dropped to a lowly 70%. His average for the campaign is 88%.

CM: Declan Rice—6.3: As industrious as ever off the ball, Rice was lacking some much needed dexterity.

AM: Kai Havertz—5.5: Standing in for the absent Eberechi Eze, Havertz underscored his status as a player with a baffling mix of craft and clumsiness.

RW: Bukayo Saka—6.3: Shunted to the fringes of a contest he rarely threatened to penetrate.

ST: Viktor Gyökeres—5.7: Played with an admirable zip and fizz, rapidly establishing that he was a match for City’s two center backs in a physical duel. Just didn’t see enough of the ball.

LW: Leandro Trossard—6.5: The most influential impact Arsenal’s winger offered was from a defensive aspect rather than anything going forward.

SUB: Riccardo Calafiori (65’ for Hincapié)—7.2: Showed some rare daring in possession during his fleeting cameo.

SUB: Noni Madueke (66’ for Havertz)—: Failed to make a dent.

SUB: Gabriel Jesus (82’ for Trossard)—N/A

SUB: Gabriel Martinelli (82’ for White)—N/A

Subs not used: David Raya (GK), Cristhian Mosquera, Christian Nørgaard, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Max Dowman.

---

Player of the match: Nico O’Reilly (Man City)

Arsenal player of the match: William Saliba

---

What These Ratings Tell Us

• It was not Kai Havertz’s day. Arsenal’s ephemeral half-striker had the first-half’s outstanding chance after just seven minutes yet limply scooped the ball into James Trafford’s midriff. “We should have been 1–0 up,” Arteta later lamented. He, and Arsenal, would rue that wastefulness.
• Declan Rice and Martín Zubimendi started the game so well but eventually became swamped by City’s constant midfield overloads, finding themselves two-vs.–four at times with Cherki and O’Reilly joining Rodri and Bernardo Silva.
• The less said about Arrizabalaga’s evening the better.

---

The Numbers That Explain Carabao Cup Heartache for Arsenal

• It wasn’t until the 44th minute that City had their first shot of the final. And that ambitious effort from Doku was blocked 25 yards from Arsenal’s goal.
• The contest emphatically swung the other way after the break. The Gunners forced just one save from Trafford in the second 45 minutes while City racked up a close-range xG of 1.27.
• Arsenal were held to just 38% possession, their lowest figure of the entire season. Guardiola’s City had been forced into a record-low of their own when the pair clashed at the Emirates in September yet Guardiola doubled down on his inherent philosophy for the Wembley occasion.

Statistic	Arsenal	Man City
Possession	38%	62%
Expected Goals (xG)	0.63	1.60
Total Shots	10	10
Shots on Target	4	2
Big Chances	3	3
Passing Accuracy	78%	87%
Fouls Committed	12	10
Corners	3	3

---