Manchester City were knocked out of the Champions League on Wednesday night and they have another huge game coming up this weekend.

It might just be the biggest compliment Pep Guardiola can ever hand down to Arsenal, while also offering a clear indication of the sheer magnitude of this weekend’s Carabao Cup final between Manchester City and their biggest rivals.

When a team needs three goals just to draw level on aggregate with Real Madrid in the Champions League, having Erling Haaland in it has to be a given.

Which is just the scenario Guardiola and City faced at the Etihad this week. So what did Guardiola do? He hauled off the most lethal forward in world football – with less than an hour of the second leg gone.

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Some would regard this as professional suicide on Guardiola’s behalf. Waving the white flag in the direction of those in black from Madrid.

Haaland had just scored his 30th goal of the season in all competitions to offer his side a glimmer of hope that some sort of famous fightback could happen. He had looked dangerous throughout the game. He had appeared to have found some of his form again following a difficult few weeks.

But Guardiola has never been afraid to make the kind of decisions that sometimes baffle people, but in his own head, make complete sense. The Catalan never stops thinking about the future. And he knows City’s next game could well go on to define his club’s entire season. A season which is now in serious danger of imploding.

Watching his players get run ragged by Real (again) was far from the ideal preparation for Sunday’s showdown with Arsenal at Wembley. So Guardiola decided to sacrifice Haaland.

In the decade Guardiola has presided over almost constant success in Manchester, the Carabao Cup has felt like nothing more than a bit of gloss added to the footballing masterpiece he has painted. Guardiola wasn’t lured from Bayern Munich to win League Cups, but league titles and Champions League crowns. And he did.

But getting his hands on the least significant of the four trophies available to Guardiola is now crucial. City failed to win silverware last season and are now out of Europe. They also need an Arsenal collapse to make their way back into the title race.

Back-to-back campaigns without a single trophy is as unimaginable as it would be unacceptable. Not least considering Liverpool’s demise.

Guardiola’s legacy will never be touched, but his reputation could be tarnished. Lose to Arsenal this weekend and Guardiola could be left with just the FA Cup to play for.

So all those connected with City can do now is sit back and hope his decision, where Haaland is concerned, was the right one.