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Can Arsenal end their trophy draught by getting their hands on the Carabao Cup? Tuesday will forever be a famous night at the Emirates as the Gunners ousted Chelsea in the EFL Cup semi-finals. 3-2 up from the first leg at Stamford Bridge, every Gooner in attendance was awaiting an onslaught from the Blues that never came.
Instead, in the 98th minute, the hosts broke up field, Declan Rice squared the ball to Kai Havertz who, against the club that cast him aside, rounded the goalkeeper and slotted home. This sparked wild scenes of celebration from everyone bedecked in red, because Arsenal are going back to Wembley.
The Gunners are chasing their first major silverware, disrespect shown to the FA Community Shield, since Mikel Arteta hoisted aloft the FA Cup at an empty Wembley in lockdown six years ago. The club's record in the League Cup is not one worth shouting about, seeking to get their hands on this particular trophy for the first time in 33 years.
List of EFL Cup Finals Arsenal have appeared in
- 1968: Leeds United 1-0 Arsenal.
- 1969: Swindon Town 3-1 Arsenal.
- 1987: Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool.
- 1988: Luton Town 3-2 Arsenal.
- 1993: Arsenal 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday.
- 2007: Chelsea 2-1 Arsenal.
- 2011: Birmingham City 2-1 Arsenal.
- 2018: Manchester City 3-0 Arsenal.
Their tally of six League Cup Final defeats is a competition record, beaten in all three this century, most recently demolished 3-0 by Man City themselves during Arsène Wenger's final season in charge. However, this modern-day team is very different so, with 45 days until the final, have Arsenal landed an early psychological advantage?
Manchester City's early EFL Cup Final blow
Since his side's comfortable 5-1 aggregate victory over Newcastle on Wednesday night, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has basically spent the entire time complaining. Speaking to Sky Sports after the match he said this:
"We’re going to travel to London, Arsenal will wait for us there. All the time we have to travel. Never [the opposition] travel to the North of England ."
Since 1985, every League Cup Final has been played at either Wembley or in Cardiff, aside from the '97 final replay between Leicester and Middlesbrough that took place at Hillsborough. Train has been Guardiola's preferred method of travel to London throughout his time at the club, and trains from Manchester Piccadilly to Euston take two hours and 14 minutes, which isn't that far is it? His players also are unlikely to be subject to a standing room only situation.
The location of the final, which has always been the case, is not the Catalan head coach's only gripe.
"Hopefully we can convince the Carabao Cup that Marc Guéhi can play the final. I don't understand why he cannot... You buy a player for a lot of money and he is not able to play for a rule I don't understand. Hopefully they can change it... we pay his salary, he is our player. "
For as long as English cup competitions have existed, players have been cup-tied as soon as they appear for any club in that competition that season. Well, the EFL did actually alter this rule for this season, which is why Antoine Semenyo will be available at Wembley.
He arrived from Bournemouth prior to Man City's first leg against Newcastle, actually scoring at St James' Park. Guéhi though joined subsequently, meaning he could not feature in the return leg, nor in the final, having started all three of Crystal Palace's fixtures in the competition.
Guardiola pleaded for the rules to be changed, but the EFL confirmed on Thursday morning that this will not occur. Joško Gvardiol is sidelined long-term, but Rúben Dias was back on the bench this week, now hoping to feature for the first time since suffering a hamstring injury against Chelsea on 4 January.
While not having Guéhi is a blow for Man City, them's the rules, even if the Sky Blues have history when it comes to not abiding by them... allegedly. Either-way, all of Guardiola's comments suggest he is fearful of facing Arsenal, which certainly hasn't always been the case.