Manchester City reaffirmed themselves as trophy winners supreme as they delivered a cleansing reality check to Arsenal with a 2-0 win in the League Cup final thanks to Nico O’Reilly’s second-half double at Wembley on Sunday.
Premier League leaders Arsenal emerged as favorites to win their first trophy since 2020 but were found wanting as City deservedly won the competition for a ninth time.
Five of those have come since Pep Guardiola arrived in 2016 and the Spaniard is now the most successful manager in the competition’s history, surpassing Jose Mourinho, Alex Ferguson and Brian Clough, who all won the competition four times.
It could also be one of the finest triumphs in Guardiola’s vast collection as his impressive side shook off midweek elimination from the Champions League to mock rumors of power shifts and Arsenal’s quadrupling.
Arsenal, who had not won the League Cup since 1993, simply failed to show up and will have to dust themselves off and focus on winning a first Premier League title since 2004.
As a final, the showpiece failed to live up to pre-match expectations, with the first half a dismal stalemate.
But City stepped up a gear after the break and O’Reilly took advantage of a fumble from Arsenal keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga to give City a deserved lead on the hour.
Arrizabalaga could only push Rayan Cherki’s cross over his own head and the ball bounced down for the alert O’Reilly to duck and head into the empty net.
Four minutes later, City completed the ball effectively as an overlap was created down the right and Matheus Nunes made a perfect cross for 21-year-old O’Reilly to head home.
Arsenal’s frustration was evident and Ben White was shown a yellow card for clattering Cherki after the Frenchman indulged in ball juggling near the touchline.
Mikel Arteta’s side huffed and puffed and Gabriel hit the crossbar late on, but he showed little ingenuity and looked jaded.
By the time Bernardo Silva went up to collect the trophy, there were very few Arsenal supporters left, while on the other side, City’s joyful fans announced their Blue Moon song.
City did not win a trophy last year and are nine points behind Arsenal in the Premier League, but showed on Sunday they are still a force to be reckoned with.
Published on March 23, 2026
