Manchester United may not have been in the Champions League tonight, but their season has been heavily impacted by one of the results this evening
22:01, 07 Apr 2026Updated 22:24, 07 Apr 2026
Michael Carrick would have had a keen eye on the Champions League fixtures last night(Image: 2026 Charlotte Wilson/Offside)
Arsenal’s win against Sporting means fifth will be enough for Manchester United to qualify for next season’s Champions League. The Gunners needed a draw or a victory in Lisbon this evening to ensure the Premier League topped the UEFA co-efficient rankings.
Defeat for Mikel Arteta’s side would have put the onus on Liverpool against Paris Saint-Germain tomorrow evening, with a draw or a victory for the Merseysiders being enough to top the table. However, Arsenal’s 1-0 victory in Portugal has guaranteed the Premier League an unassailable lead at the top of the rankings.
This is a huge boost for United as it means a fifth-placed finish will be enough to qualify for Europe’s elite competition.
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Michael Carrick’s side are comfortably lodged in third position, but Arsenal’s performance this evening gives the Reds an extra layer of security in regard to the race for Champions League qualification.
This was provided by Kai Havertz’s late goal for the north Londoners in Lisbon. The German’s late strike wrapped up a 1-0 away victory for Arteta’s side and ensured at least five Premier League teams will be among the 36 sides in next season’s competition.
Carrick’s side are back in action in the Premier League this weekend. They travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea in west London.
The Blues, who are currently sixth in the table, would have also been buoyed by the Gunners’ result, although their margin for error is much smaller than United’s. While the Arsenal result is undoubtedly good news for United, Carrick will not allow his players to rest on their laurels.
Before the international break, the United interim manager warned his stars they have to aim for a much higher finish than fifth position. The ex-United midfielder said: “We just need everything we’ve got fully flat down on the floor, there’s no other way.
“It might change, it might not. There needs to be quite a big swing for it to not be fifth but, ultimately, that’s not something that we can control.
“Ideally, we’d like to be fighting above that anyway. So we’re not in the mindset of what’s going to be enough. It’s literally game by game and trying to win.
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“It sounds really obvious, but you can’t plan for if you finish fourth or fifth. You’re going to the next game, and we’re all in on this game.
“It’s not something you can plan for really is what I’m getting at. So if we keep our heads up, be really positive and focus on what we can achieve and try and move up the table, it’s a lot better place to have that mindset for.”
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Theo Walcott tried to compare this Arsenal team to one of the best in Man Utd history and now it is starting to look foolish.
Manchester United celebrate winning the 2008 Champions League final
It’s not been a good couple of weeks for anyone keen to back Theo Walcott’s idea that this Arsenal side could give the Manchester United vintage of 2007/08 a run for their money. Tamely beaten in the Carabao Cup final and knocked out of the FA Cup by a team from the Championship, a potential quadruple has now shrunk to a double, but the pressure is mounting at the Emirates.
It was back in January when Walcott asked Wayne Rooney how the United of 2008 – which Walcott said was the best team he played against – would compare to this Arsenal team, which, until a couple of weeks ago, had only lost three games all season.
“We’d batter them,” was Rooney’s blunt response. Walcott looked taken aback, leading Rooney to add: “I think we would. I have to be honest.”
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That idea has gathered traction recently. The Arsenal of 2026 are a product of their environment: a physical, set-piece-dominant team, grinding out results in a league that has become all about those traits. But when those weapons fail, they look less than the sum of their parts in open play.
The United of 2008 played with swagger, led by a front three of Rooney, Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored 79 goals between them in all competitions. Arsenal have just two players in double figures this season so far, with Viktor Gyokeres on 17 and Gabriel Martinelli on 11.
It wasn’t just about that front three, however. United had Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic in the centre of defence, and midfield combinations of Michael Carrick, Paul Scholes, Anderson and Owen Hargreaves. They ticked almost every box, and many shrewd judges would mark them down as Sir Alex Ferguson’s greatest ever team. It is between them and the 1999 treble winners.
Between 2006/07 and 2008/09, United won three successive Premier League titles and one Champions League title, but they reached the Champions League semi-finals and the final in that period. They were among the best in Europe and one of the best teams the Premier League has ever seen.
It is clear that Arsenal can’t hold a candle to them at the moment. Mikel Arteta’s side should still win the Premier League, though given their reputation for collapsing under pressure and their last two results, that now feels far from certain. They should also beat Sporting in the Champions League quarter-finals.
But they have to do much, much more to be compared with the United of 2008. They need to play with more ambition for a start. That United team is remembered fondly for the football they played. Even if Arsenal win the title this season, nobody will remember them in 15 years’ time.
If there is a regret for Rooney and his Old Trafford teammates in 2008, it’s that they didn’t win the treble. They were stunned in the FA Cup quarter-finals as well, beaten by an underdog from the south coast, in Portsmouth. At least that’s one thing they have in common with this Arsenal side.
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Arsenal were knocked out of a second competition in two games after losing 2-1 at Championship club Southampton on Saturday night.
Mikel Arteta and the Arsenal players react after defeat to Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-finals(Image: Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta admitted his players are in pain and must look themselves in the mirror while Manchester City’s confidence continues to grow in the Premier League title race. On Saturday lunchtime, the Blues continued the momentum from before the international break with a dominant victory over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Still suffering a hangover from the Wembley defeat last month, the Gunners crashed out of the FA Cup yesterday evening after a 2-1 loss to Southampton. Before the Carabao Cup final defeat to City, Arsenal were chasing the quadruple.
Now, Arteta’s side find themselves battling in just the Premier League and Champions League. Speaking in his post-match press conference, the Arsenal boss refused to use the battle for four trophies as an excuse for the defeat. “No, and I don’t want to put any excuses about the players that are missing or the players that are here with issues,” he said.
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“It’s not the case – let’s look at ourselves in the mirror, accept the situation, and go to Portugal with clarity and look forward to it. I don’t know [if it will be a blessing in disguise].
“We are out, so while we are out we still have that pain, but when that pain goes, we have to use the time we have in the best possible manner to maximise every resource we have to then be better. You have to ‘stop’ when you’re winning, winning, and winning, like we’ve been doing, so that you don’t think you’re better than you are because you’re winning.
“It’s very clear – we’ve talked about it many times – you have to be very stable [in the Premier League], in any competition that you play, and we will continue to do that.” City are now the favourites to win the FA Cup but they still have work to do to win the Premier League.
The Blues sit nine points behind Arsenal in the title race. But they have a game in hand to play against Crystal Palace and will also face the Gunners at the Etihad Stadium on April 19.
City return to league action next Sunday when they visit Chelsea. As for Arsenal, they travel to Sporting on Tuesday night before facing AFC Bournemouth at the Emirates Stadium.
Manchester United have been linked with a move for Arsenal defender Myles Lewis-Skelly over the last few weeks
Myles Lewis-Skelly has been linked with Manchester United in recent weeks(Image: David Rogers/Getty Images)
Myles Lewis-Skelly has impressed with his attitude and character during England duty amid reported transfer interest from Manchester United.
The Reds have been credited with an interest in signing the Arsenal defender in recent weeks ahead of the summer transfer window.
Lewis-Skelly enjoyed his breakthrough campaign at Arsenal last term, with the left-back being rewarded with a long-term contract, which was signed in June last year.
The 19-year-old has been forced to settle for just 27 appearances in all competitions for Arsenal this term, with manager Mikel Arteta only handing Lewis-Skelly one start in the Premier League and none in the Champions League.
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This international break has seen Lewis-Skelly link up with the England Under-21 squad, where the defender made his debut for the Young Lions in a 1-1 draw with Andorra last week.
The teenager followed that performance with another full 90 minutes for the England Under-21s in a 4-1 win over Moldova, where Lewis-Skelly provided the assist for Ethan Nwaneri, an Arsenal teammate who is currently on loan at Marseille.
Lewis-Skelly has previously earned six caps for the England senior squad, but Under-21s boss Lee Carsley has been impressed with the attitude that the left-back has shown after being selected for the Young Lions rather than Thomas Tuchel’s squad.
“I’ve been really, really impressed with his quality, and that would have been a tough game for him to come into,” Carsley told the Daily Mail.
“He’s not had a lot of minutes recently so for your first game for the Under-21s, on artificial turf, against Andorra, it would have been a bit of an eye opener for him.
“But he played in the right spirit, and he was a good example for the rest of the players, considering he’s a senior international. He applied himself very well.”
“I noticed how enthusiastic he is,” the England U21 boss added. “That’s always in the back of your mind, when you go from the seniors back to the Under-21s, that the motivation may not be there.
“But we’ve never had that from any player since I’ve been doing the 21s, so that’s a real positive. He’s been really good around the group, showing his qualities.”
Arsenal’s dark arts have degenerated to such a point that it’s clear they’re terrified of Premier League rivals Manchester City
Mikel Arteta has sunk to new lows this season(Image: TOLGA AKMEN/EPA/Shutterstock)
You’ve got to feel for Mikel Arteta, haven’t you? If you don’t, you’re an unfeeling monster of Roy Keaneian proportions.
With Arsenal on the cusp of their first Premier League title in over two decades, they’ve been plunged into an injury crisis so grotesquely unlucky it makes Paula Radcliffe being remembered for a mid-race toilet break rather than as a world champion marathon runner feel like a fair shake.
In the space of just a few days, 12 of their senior players have withdrawn from international duty due to injury. Twelve. What an unfortunate sequence of entirely coincidental and definitely-not-convenient events.
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Now, in case it wasn’t clear enough, I’m being as sarcastic as Robert Sanchez is error-prone.
This obviously isn’t an injury crisis; it’s a pathetic, fabricated outbreak of ‘Arteta-itis’ – a rare medical phenomenon where a player is physically incapable of boarding a plane for his country, yet miraculously recovers the second the Emirates Stadium floodlights flick on.
It’s the latest sorry chapter in a season-long manual of ‘dark arts’ s***housery. Arsenal have mutated into an ugly, cynical blob of a football team, Boris Johnsoning their way to success through manufactured chaos and a total disregard for basic integrity.
Whether it’s their borderline pathological set piece fetish, their mid-match wrestling, the incessant time-wasting or the way they Tom Daley themselves to the turf at the slightest breeze, the act is wearing thin.
But this latest stunt – pretending that the bulk of their starting XI has simultaneously morphed into the walking wounded, just as the title race heats up – is a new low, a frantic, desperate scramble for yet another unfair advantage.
Despite having a squad worth £1.2billion, Arsenal’s sudden reliance on soap-opera theatrics paints a stark picture: panic is starting to set in.
The Gunners have been wobbling for months and Arteta is now peering over his shoulder with the same twitchy paranoia of a Chelsea manager after back-to-back defeats, frantically checking to see if his key card still works on the training ground doors.
They know that Manchester City are the ultimate apex predators. They saw what happened in the League Cup final – a performance so timid, so reminiscent of a pampered house cat spending 90 minutes looking for a radiator to hide under, that the trauma has clearly become terminal.
They know that while they’ve been grinding out joyless 1-0 wins and faking cramps to kill the clock, City have the mettle, the experience and the cold-blooded know-how to reel them in.
Arteta is panicking because he knows his side have stopped outplaying people. Instead, they’ve retreated into a shell of risk-averse, soul-crushing pragmatism – a tactic that might get a few points on the board but that’s also crushing their confidence.
When you’re truly the best in the land, you don’t need to cynically bubble wrap your players. You don’t need to turn every corner into a 20-man pile-up and every throw-in into a stoppage long enough for the fans to nip out for a p*ss. You play. You dominate. You succeed.
By ordering a squad-wide withdrawal from international duty, Arteta is showing a chronic lack of faith in his players. He’s so spooked by the sight of City in the rear-view mirror that he’s effectively put his team on ‘airplane mode’ until he feels safe again. It’s the ultimate admission of weakness.
It’s a stomach-churning watch – a giant middle finger to the fans who pay hard-earned money for international tickets and, frankly, it’s cheapening the Premier League crown. The champions of England should never hide in the shadows or resort to such basement-level tactics.
If Arsenal do manage to crawl over the line this season, it won’t be remembered as a triumph of football. It will be remembered as the year the “dark arts” won – a hollow victory built on a foundation of tactical cowardice.
If they don’t win it – after deploying the sort of sneaky, underhanded tactics that would make late-night texts from John Terry to your missus look above board – then it will have to go down as the mother of all Premier League bottlejobs.
Arteta clearly doesn’t believe he can win a fair fight against Man City anymore. He might as well peel the bandages off those injured stars of his and fashion a giant white flag out of them.
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Mikel Arteta faces a mounting injury crisis with 12 Arsenal players now doubtful for their return to domestic action following the international break
19:41, 29 Mar 2026Updated 19:42, 29 Mar 2026
William Saliba is one of 12 players currently injured(Image: Getty Images)
Arsenal are in the midst of an injury crisis in the Premier League title race with Manchester City, with news emerging that the availability of 12 players is in doubt ahead of the club’s return to domestic action. It has been an international break to forget for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal as they prepare for a crucial run‑in rivalling City.
Nine points separate City from the Gunners, with Pep Guardiola’s side also holding a game in hand – against Crystal Palace. That match, scheduled for March 21st, was postponed due to City’s participation in the Carabao Cup final, where they beat Arsenal 2-0 at Wembley.
In terms of injuries, Guardiola has a healthier squad than their counterpart with only Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol sidelined. As for the north Londoners, Martin Zubimendi was the latest to withdraw from his national side in recent days, representing a significant worry.
A further injury setback emerged when Piero Hincapie pulled out of the Ecuador squad ahead of Tuesday evening’s fixture against the Netherlands.
He featured in La Tri’s draw with Morocco on Friday night, before being substituted by Pervis Estupinan with 15 minutes remaining.
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Noni Madueke, Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka all withdrew from the England squad and returned to Arsenal for medical attention, while Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Eberechi Eze, Leandro Trossard, and Jurrien Timber all stepped back from their respective international commitments.
Here, the Manchester Evening News runs through all of Arsenal’s currently sidelined players in their title race with City…
Martin Zubimendi
The worry surrounding Zubimendi marks the latest in a succession of devastating setbacks for Mikel Arteta’s team over the past 48 hours.
A statement from the Spanish FA, issued just hours after another injury setback, confirmed: “Martin Zubimendi has withdrawn from the Spanish national team camp due to discomfort in his right knee.
“To avoid any risk and to protect the player’s health, he has been removed from the squad. Arsenal FC’s medical staff have been informed of the situation.”
Piero Hincapie
Hincapie represents another injury concern for Arsenal and Arteta, withdrawing from Ecuador’s squad ahead of their clash with the Netherlands on Tuesday night. The defender has travelled back to the Gunners, though the full extent of his injury remains unclear at present.
Leandro Trossard
Trossard pulled out of the Belgium squad for their international fixtures against the USA and Mexico owing to a hip injury.
In a statement, the Belgian FA confirmed: “This decision will allow him to continue their rehabilitation under optimal conditions.”
Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka
Arteta faced another injury blow with both England internationals returning to Arsenal, leaving the Three Lions camp just a day after linking up with Thomas Tuchel’s squad. The seriousness of any possible injuries remains unclear at this stage.
An FA statement confirmed: “Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka will also return to Arsenal for medical assessment, having arrived on Friday along with nine other players.
“The rest of that group comprised of Dean Henderson, Nico O’Reilly, Ezri Konsa, Marc Guéhi, Dan Burn, Elliot Anderson, Morgan Rogers, Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane.”
Noni Madueke
Madueke appeared visibly distressed as he walked past Thomas Tuchel on the touchline on Friday evening, with subsequent footage raising serious concerns over the winger’s fitness.
The 24-year-old, who sat out 15 games for the Gunners earlier this campaign with a knee complaint, was spotted wearing a brace on his left leg as he was filmed departing the stadium. Consequently, Madueke has been released from Tuchel’s squad with what England described as a ‘knock.’
When quizzed about which players would be departing the England camp ahead of next week’s fixture, Tuchel replied: “It’s too early. Now we have some injuries and there’s also a medical update on the players who came.
“Not everyone is fully fit as I understood. We will take late decisions and maybe take the decision only tomorrow to have a squad against Japan to compete.”
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Eberechi Eze
Eze was absent from the Carabao Cup final after picking up an injury during Arsenal’s Champions League victory over Bayer Leverkusen earlier this month. Eze withdrew from the England squad due to the calf problem, and will now undergo further evaluation. It is understood that the attacking midfielder could be sidelined for approximately four-to-six weeks, representing a significant setback for Arsenal during such a critical stage of the season.
The Gunners face five fixtures within 15 days following the international break, meaning squad rotation will be vital to avoid further injuries and player fatigue. Despite this, they will likely be compelled to navigate the heavily congested schedule without Eze at their disposal.
William Saliba
Much like Eze, Saliba pulled out of this month’s international fixtures, with France scheduled to face Brazil and Croatia. While the centre-back featured in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final, an ankle injury sustained during the match prompted his replacement by Maxence Lacroix for international duty.
The French Football Federation confirmed at the time: “William Saliba is unable to join the French national team’s training camp, which begins this Monday, March 23rd. The Arsenal centre-back is suffering from recurring pain in his left ankle, requiring treatment and a minimum rest period of ten days.”
Should France’s assessment prove correct, this suggests Saliba ought to be sufficiently recovered to feature against Southampton in the FA Cup next weekend.
Martin Odegaard
Odegaard was sidelined for last Sunday’s Carabao Cup final due to a knee problem. Having been unavailable for approximately a month, uncertainty remains over whether he will be ready for next weekend’s FA Cup fixture.
Gabriel Magalhaes
The Brazilian Football Federation issued a statement confirming that Gabriel would be absent from his country’s friendlies against France and Croatia due to “pain in his right knee.”
Scan results have also revealed an injury to the 28-year-old centre-half.
Jurrien Timber
Timber sustained an injury during Arsenal’s victory over Everton earlier this month and has not appeared since.
The full-back has also pulled out of Netherlands duty for their friendlies against Norway and Ecuador, with a statement from the Dutch FA confirming: “Sunderland defender Lutsharel Geertruida has been added to the Netherlands national team squad by national coach Ronald Koeman.
“This follows the withdrawal of Jurrien Timber (Arsenal), who has not yet sufficiently recovered from an injury and is therefore unavailable for this international break.” Speaking ahead of the international break, Arteta confirmed the defender would be assessed following the pause in club fixtures.
Mikel Merino
Although Merino is expected to have sufficiently recovered from his ankle injury in time to feature for Spain at this summer’s World Cup, it seems the adaptable midfielder’s contribution to Arsenal’s campaign this season has come to an end.
The club are taking a careful approach to Merino’s rehabilitation, and the player was pictured on crutches and in a protective boot at Wembley last weekend.
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Arsenal currently lead the way in the fight for the Premier League title with the chasing Manchester City their last true competition
Manchester City have just eight Premier League games left to catch Arsenal(Image: Getty)
Arsenal have just seven league games left this season as they remain frontrunners for the Premier League title. Manchester City are still in the fight but face a tougher run of games.
Mikel Arteta’s side have become accustomed to playing second fiddle in the top flight, finishing as runners-up in each of the last three campaigns. But this term, they have one hand on the trophy and are nine points clear at the summit.
Pep Guardiola’s City are their only remaining rivals and they sit in second place with a game in hand. They bested the Gunners in the Carabao Cup final 2-0 to extinguish any hopes of an Arsenal quadruple.
Both sides will do battle once again during the Premier League run-in, but one faces an easier path to glory. The Manchester Evening News evaluates which of Arsenal and City have been handed the more difficult final few fixtures.
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If we use the Fixture Difficulty Rating (FDR) which Fantasy Premier League players utilise, it is clear which of the two title contenders has an easier end to the season. This rating ranges from 1 to 5, with the higher number indicating a more difficult game.
League leaders Arsenal host Bournemouth next and this clash holds an FDR of 3. Then, City away (5) is on the agenda. They then welcome Newcastle United (3) to the Emirates followed by another home match against Fulham (2).
The Gunners end their campaign with a trip to West Ham (2), a home fixture against Burnley (1) and a journey to Crystal Palace (3). City on the other hand, not only have an extra game to play but have been bestowed with tougher matches.
Guardiola’s men return from the international break to visit Chelsea (4) and then host Arsenal (4). They later travel to Burnley (2) and Everton (3).
City will go on to host Brentford (3) before an away clash with Bournemouth (3) and a home battle with Aston Villa (3) and there is still the game against Palace (3) at the Etihad to be rearranged.
With City playing an extra match, we can look at the averages of these last fixtures and determine that they have a harder run-in. Arsenal’s average FDR is 2.7, while City’s is 3.1. Despite getting the better of their title rivals in the Carabao Cup, manager Guardiola does not think that trophy success will have any impact on the league scrap.
He said after victory at Wembley: “I would like to be nine points in front of Arsenal, but I don’t know if I’d change a trophy to fight for the Premier League.
“I don’t think it will have an impact, different competition and they will be more concerned when they come to the Etihad. That title will help us a lot for the [FA Cup] quarter-final against Liverpool at home with our people.
“Today all our side was fully Blue, I’m so happy being together and celebrating. Maybe it will help us for that game but the Premier League is in their hands, they punished us a lot.”
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The 19-year-old had a standout season last year, making 39 appearances across all competitions for the Gunners and becoming a regular for both his club and country. However, his progress has been stunted this season with just 27 appearances under his belt and no game-time in the Premier League since Arsenal’s 0-0 draw with Liverpool in January.
According to Sky Sports, Lewis-Skelly is a player appreciated by United’s hierarchy alongside Nathaniel Brown of Frankfurt and Lewis Hall of Newcastle United ahead of the summer transfer window.
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football.london reports that first-team sales are the priority for the Gunners, meaning an offer for the left-back from United could lead to the player’s departure from his boyhood club should they meet the London club’s valuation.
United have a rich history of promoting young players and guiding them towards greatness, with Heaven, 19, being the latest beneficiary of the club’s faith in youth. The defender has played 16 games for United this season, including eight league starts.
His £1million transfer from north London to Manchester was finalised last February and after his debut season, he spoke about his decision to join United. Speaking to MUTV, the teenager said: “The opportunities that the young players have got here in the past.
“I think United had the most minutes given to teenagers last season [2023/24]. That convinced me to come here. And the people and the fans here are quite loving, and I felt that when I was playing. They’re so supportive.”
Referencing Ruben Amorim’s approach and tactical system as a motivation for signing with United, Heaven added: “He just said that our play style will suit me, because they play three at a back and I play on the left of the three, so that allows me to run with the ball.”
While United operate a different style of football under Michael Carrick than he was originally familiar with, Heaven’s self-described attributes will only enhance the side. He continued: “That’s one of my strengths. And defending out wide is one of my strengths as well.”
Presently positioned behind Piero Hincapie and Riccardo Calafiori in the left-back pecking order, Lewis-Skelly’s limited opportunities were criticised by Ian Wright, who maintained the adaptable player should have been involved in Arsenal’s Carabao Cup final loss to Manchester City.
He said on The Overlap: “I’ve mentioned Myles Lewis-Skelly when he played against Real Madrid last time, had an unbelievable game. Then he’s kind of been dropped back out of it, and I’m thinking in that game, on Sunday, a left-back who can invert what we need is somebody comfortable on the ball.
“That’s the game he should be playing in, because then he’s somebody who can get on the ball, and at least we can link.”
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Manchester City defeated Arsenal 2-0 at Wembley stadium to win the Carabao Cup final, and now they have the Gunners truly in their sights as they target more silverware
Antoine Semenyo celebrates winning the Carabao Cup with Manchester City(Image: Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)
Manchester City forward Antoine Semenyo has urged his team-mates to finish the job and win more silverware this season after beating Arsenal 2-0 in the Carabao Cup final. The Blues were the dominant side in the second half and thoroughly deserved their win at Wembley Stadium.
Kepa Arrizabalaga fumbled Rayan Cherki’s cross to allow Nico O’Reilly to net the opener on the hour mark. Just four minutes later, the full-back had his second as he powered home Matheus Nunes’ cross. Arsenal pushed for a goal back with Gabriel Jesus’ header off the crossbar the closest Mikel Arteta’s side came.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Semenyo said: “First of many. I’m excited, I’m happy and many more to come. It feels like a fairytale if I’m honest but I feel I have a lot more to show. I want to show how versatile I am and just help the team as much as I can.
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“It gives us a boost, it gives us confidence coming back from the international break and hopefully catching up.
“We don’t want to speak too much because momentum can swing quickly. We just have to do our jobs and hopefully we can finish off the job.”
City sit nine points behind Arsenal in the Premier League. However, the title race is far from over with the Blues having a game in hand on the Gunners and still having to face them before the end of the season.
The Blues are also still in the FA Cup and face Liverpool when they return after the international break.
For Semenyo, the win at Wembley was another step on what has been a brilliant journey for him. The Ghana international scored his first ever goal in the Carabao Cup for Newport County in 2018.
Asked about his journey, the forward concluded: “God’s got a plan. It might not work out and you might not know why, but the answer always reveals itself later on.”
Manchester City beat Arsenal to win the Carabao Cup and inject fresh intrigue into the Premier League title race but question marks over Pep Guardiola’s future remain.
06:00, 23 Mar 2026
City lift the Carabao Cup
As Manchester City’s players passed the Carabao Cup trophy down the line to huge cheers from their supporters, Pep Guardiola stood and watched.
From the look on his face you wouldn’t necessarily know City had won but this is a man who has been here before. Wembley has been a second home for the Blues under Guardiola and more often than not it’s ended with a trophy.
This was the manager’s fifth victory in the competition and it will have given him huge satisfaction and justification given the rebuild and changing of the guard over the past 18 months.
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That they swatted aside an Arsenal team who, until 6pm on Sunday were on for a quadruple, shows what this City side can do and is capable of. It points to a bright future with a growing and improving group. But the big question is: will Guardiola be here for next season?
He has had ample opportunity to quash any suggestion that this will be his last year at the Etihad but hasn’t done so. Equally, there is no concrete indication that he will depart in the summer and he has spoken several times on what this new-look City team can offer. The Catalan has been as passionate and full throttle as ever this term and he certainly doesn’t give the impression of a man who is winding down.
Does Sunday’s result change things? Probably not in isolation. Guardiola will leave on his terms and at this stage it might be that not even he knows what will come next. The international break offers an opportunity for him to consider his future – should he feel he needs to – and City will always have one eye on who might succeed him.
The noise around Enzo Maresca continues, while perhaps Bayern Munich boss and City great Vincent Kompany would be first choice if the timing aligns.
Guardiola has done it all at the Etihad. 2023 was a crowning campaign that cannot be topped but the promise of what this team is capable of was evident on Sunday. There is more to come.
In his programme notes at Wembley, Guardiola said: “As a football manager it is days like today you live for – playing against a top team and a top manager with a chance to win a trophy. It feels special.”
How many more days and trophies does Guardiola have at City? It’s the question nobody knows the answer to. A Carabao Cup final hasn’t changed that.
