Hello all and welcome to what will surely be an eventful afternoon here at Wembley, my name is Nathan Woolgar and I’ll be taking you through this thrilling cup final between Arsenal and Manchester City
Arsenal are looking to end a near six year wait for a major trophy, with the Gunners sitting atop the premier league table as well as being involved in this occasion today, the general feeling is that this wait could be soon coming to an end.
Eberechi Eze and Jurrien Timble miss out for Mikel Arteta’s side, while the Spanish managers opts for fellow countryman Kepa Arrizabalaga between the sticks
Pep Guardiola is no stranger to this competition, having won it five times, with four of those coming on the bounce.
Ruben Dias and Marc Guehi are unavailable for the citizens, while Guardiola also goes with his 2nd choice goalkeeper as James Trafford enters the XI
The most interesting matchup today for me will be Arsenal’s statute defence coming up against the Premier League’s top scorer in Erling Haaland. With the big Norwegian linking up with Antoine Semenyo, it will certainly be fascinating to see how Gabriel and William Saliba match up.
The players are out, the atmosphere is electric, and the tension here is massive, what a game we are about to witness!
Kick Off
1st min: Arsenal get us going in this years League Cup final!
5th min: Gyokeres looks sharp early on, he’s almost set free behind the City high line but Ake’s recovery pace is enough to avert the danger
7th min: CLOSE Triple save from Trafford, the young keeper does really well to stop both Gyokeres and Zubimendi from opening the scoring early on
10th min: First chance for City to attack and a cross finds Haaland, only for the Norwegian to foul Gabriel before meeting it
13th min: Arsenal with their most dangerous weapon: a corner… only for Saka to hit the first man, a rare sight that one
15th mins: Slightly slower start to the game for Man City as Semenyo loses the ball cheaply before Silva gives away a poor foul
16th min: YELLOW Almost immediately after, Hincapie is cautioned for a rash tackle on Nunes
19th min: Rice swings in a deep free-kick which is cleared unchallenged by Haaland, Saka picks up the rebound but struggles to find a way through the deep City defence.
20th min: CHANCE! Semenyo does well to fire in a dangerous cross, nobody is there to meet it but they win a corner that is claimed by Kepa
This ongoing tussle between Gabriel and Haaland is fascinating, something to watch out for as this game goes on
Embed from Getty Images24th mins: This is a feisty encounter so far, with O’Reilly and Zubimendi the latest to clash
27th min: CLOSE! Haaland sets aside for Semenyo inside the box but a toe from Hincapie is enough to prevent a shot on goal
29th min: City again with a good chance, Semenyo skins Hincapie again before his low cross is blocked for a corner, City have looked much better since settling down and they are enjoying the majority of possession now.
32nd min: YELLOW Arsenal try to break on the counter and Khusanov launches himself at the Swede to earn himself a booking
Embed from Getty ImagesOver half an hour played now and it certainly feels like both sides are being a little too careful, neither team wants to be the first to concede here.
37th mins: City still enjoying the ball for the majority, but Arsenal throw themselves forward on the counter whenever they get the ball and look dangerous each time, Saka the latest to get forward and win a corner.
Embed from Getty Images38th min: CHANCE! A much better delivery from Saka this time but the header loops over and doesn’t worry Trafford
43rd mins: A flurry of crosses for City as they’re able to string together multiple attacks, keeping Arsenal boxed into their third.
45th min: Just one minute of additional time before the break, one that both teams will relish at this moment in time.
HALF-TIME: ARS 0-0 MCI
We’re still level at the break as the players go in, both coaches eager to provide fresh instruction as they know this game could be decided by the finest of margins
It’s not been boring or dull by any means, but this game certainly needs a goal to flare things up and really push the players show their best qualities.
SECOND HALF
46th mins: City get us started for another 45 minutes, and potentially even more if the wait for a goal goes on
49th min: Haaland backs himself up against Saliba, just about wriggles himself through but his toe poke isn’t enough to cause Kepa any distress as he gathers comfortably
51st min: YELLOW Wow, Nunes launches the ball to Doku on the counter and Kepa meets him far too late and tugs him back to earn a booking, lots of shouts for a red but minimal contact and the incident being too far wide means I think the yellow is correct
City’s second half is shaping to be very similar to first, lots of ball possession, but the stubborn low block of Arteta’s Arsenal is proving difficult to break
56th min: City are really upping the tempo now, Semenyo cuts in to lash wide but the main talking point will be Arsenal’s gamesmanship in an effort to disrupt the rhythm of the game as it is two minutes before the ball is back in open play again
59th min: A trademark City move sees them play out the back nicely before a through ball is driven in front of Haaland, Gabriel does brilliantly to recover and intercept however
GOAL MANCHESTER CITY
60th min: GOAL! City’s dominance is finally rewarded and it’s a horror mistake, Cherki fires a cross in and what looked like a comfortable catch is dropped by Kepa for Nico O’Reilly to tap into an empty net. Game on now!
63rd min: Arsenal were the better side for portions of the first half, but since the break they’ve looked afraid of Man City, some changes will be needed soon
GOAL MANCHESTER CITY
64th min: GOAL! HE’S DONE IT AGAIN! Some nice interplay on the right sees Nunes lift a cross into the box and Nico O’Reilly is in the perfect spot to nod it past Kepa and double the lead in the cup final.
66th min: SUBSTITUTIONS In a bid to change their fortunes Noni Madueke and Riccardo Calafiori enter the game in place of Hincapie and Havertz
68th min: YELLOW Cherki toys with Arsenal by doing some keepy-ups, Ben White responds by smashing into him. Fairs.
After the break it felt like it was only a matter of time before City broke the deadlock and they went and grabbed two in four minutes to install panic within the Gunners
Embed from Getty Images73rd min: CHANCE! A free kick and a chance to get back into the game for Arsenal but Rice’s delivery is headed straight into the hands of Trafford
77th min: Arsenal starting to attack with a bit more urgency now as Saka tries to dictate from the centre of the pitch, the move is cut out well by Silva with City dropping a little deeper out of possession to protect their lead
78th min: CLOSE! Calafiori sees the ball rebound to bounce in front of him and he strikes it sweetly against the outside of the far post
81st min: SUBSTITUTIONS A late roll of the dice by Arteta as White and Trossard are replaced by Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli
Embed from Getty Images85th min: The game is beginning to go flat as the belief leaves those supporting Arsenal here, some are leaving their seats already.
87th min: Arsenal are starting to push a bit more, twice stealing possession high but no noteworthy chances just yet
88th min: CHANCE! The ball is looped back into the box and comes back off the bar but Gyokeres just can’t sort his feet out enough to do anything with it, a frustrating afternoon for the Swedish international
90th min: The Arsenal defence part for Jeremy Doku who lashes wide from distance, four minutes added on to the 2nd half
90th min: SUBSTITUTION Cherki, who has been toying with Arsenal players all afternoon, is replaced by Phil Foden
93rd min: While there isn’t much going on here at the moment, its the perfect time to bring up the Man of the Match, quite obviously going to Nico O’Reilly
FULL TIME: ARS 0-2 MCI
THEY’VE DONE IT, MANCHESTER CITY ARE YOUR 2026 CARABAO CUP WINNERS
Mancunian local Nico O’Reilly, fresh off an England call up in the week, scores twice to deliver silverware to his beloved side, this is an poetic as it comes in this sport.
Bernardo Silva lifts the trophy for Manchester City, the 9th league cup triumph in their history and the 7th of the 21st century
I’m Nathan Woolgar, and I hope you enjoyed journeying through a historic cup final with me this afternoon, enjoy the rest of your weekend.