Manchester City (Man.City) will face Arsenal in the English League Cup final on March 22nd. This isn't the only upcoming competition between the two teams. They are likely to be directly competing for titles in every competition this season.
" HOME GROUND" FOR MAN CITY AT THE LEAGUE CUP
Having beaten Newcastle 3-1 in the second leg of the semi-final (5-1 on aggregate), Man. City reached the League Cup final, marking Pep Guardiola's 22nd appearance at Wembley Stadium. This also represents Man. City's 16th consecutive season at England's national stadium.
Man City (left) will be in fierce competition with Arsenal.
Photo: AFP
As everyone knows, Wembley Stadium only hosts matches involving the English national team and the finals of major English football cups (FA Cup, League Cup, Community Shield, or what's commonly known as the English Super Cup). Due to their immense success over the past decade or so, Manchester City in general, and manager Guardiola in particular, are familiar faces at Wembley matches, to the point that Man City fans call Wembley the "Etihad of the South." It's as if the League Cup final will be played at Guardiola's home ground!
Besides directly competing for the League Cup in the final showdown, Arsenal and Man City are also vying for the top spot in the Premier League. Almost all of them are significant contenders at this point, with the advantage clearly leaning towards league leaders Arsenal (6 points ahead after 24 rounds). Third-placed Aston Villa cannot be considered a title contender. The remaining strong teams are all more than ten points behind Arsenal.
Arsenal and Man City have both reached the last 16 of the Champions League and the fourth round of the FA Cup, and are considered contenders for the titles in those competitions. Theoretically, both sides are flying high with the possibility of winning four trophies. However, in reality, either team could lose everything. The League Cup clash will therefore be crucial, as both sides are just one win away from securing a specific title. They both desperately need that trophy, both to avoid ending the season empty-handed and to provide a crucial springboard for their future success.
It's still unknown who will claim the glory. All that can be said is that from this moment on, Arsenal and Man. City are the two main contenders in this two-horse race on the English football pitch.
A FANTASTIC SHOWDOWN BETWEEN "STUDENT" AND "TEACHER"
Based on the fact that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was Pep Guardiola's assistant for three seasons at Manchester City, people (somewhat exaggeratedly) call them a "teacher-student" pair in the current top coaching world. In reality, the relationship between Arteta and Guardiola is much more than that.
They both came through Barcelona's famous La Masia academy. When Arteta first appeared with Barcelona B, he came on as a substitute for... Guardiola. Perhaps this is the most important detail that Arteta is hoping to repeat: he will truly rise to replace Guardiola among the most renowned coaches in top-level football!
Of course, the "apprenticeship" role is undeniable, and perhaps even a source of joy for Arteta during his time as Guardiola's assistant. He chose that position in 2016, at the cost of rejecting similar offers from his former clubs Arsenal and Tottenham.
After stepping down as Arsenal's head coach, Arteta has lost 8 out of 9 encounters with Guardiola. Fortunately, Arteta's only victory was also the most important: a 2-0 win in the 2020 FA Cup semi-final. Arsenal faced Chelsea in the final and won that match to lift the trophy. To date, that remains Arteta's only title in his top-level football coaching career.
Arteta's Arsenal continued their winning streak against Guardiola's Man City, defeating them 5-2 in the 2023 Community Shield. Since then, Arteta has never lost to Guardiola (3 wins, 3 draws in 6 encounters). Last season, Arsenal thrashed Man City 5-1 in the Premier League. This season, the two sides drew 1-1 in the first leg. Not long after the League Cup final, they will meet again in the second leg, and this could very well be the decisive match for the Premier League title.