Manchester City are up against Arsenal in the Carbao Cup final, so let’s take a look at what the Gunners have done to get to this stage of the competition.
Port Vale 0-2 Arsenal – September 24, 2025
Eberechi Eze opened the scoring early on at Vale Park and Leandro Trossard put the game to bed with just four minutes left to play. Arsenal may not have won by a big margin, but the victory never really looked in doubt.
Arsenal 2-0 Brighton & Hove Albion – October 29, 2025
The Gunners were not as quick off the mark in their fourth round tie, but they once again claimed a 2-0 victory, this time knocking out a fellow Premier League team. Ethan Nwaneri and Bukayo Saka got the goals and another clean sheet was obtained.
Arsenal 1-1 Crystal Palace – December 23, 2025
Crystal Palace almost managed to show that Arsenal were not unbeatable. It looked like an 80th minute own goal from Maxence Lacroix would see the hosts secure a victory, but Marc Guehi equalised in the 95th minute. Unfortunately, Mikel Arteta’s team won 8-7 on penalties.
Chelsea 2-3 Arsenal – January 14, 2026
Arsenal outclassed Chelsea in their semi-final first leg and already held a two-goal lead shortly after the match resumed for the second half. Alejandro Garnacho pulled a goal back with seven minutes left to play, but the Gunners were still in control heading into the second leg.
Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea – February 3, 2026
Chelsea kept themselves in the tie right until the very end, but ex-Blue Kai Havertz finished it off in the 97th minute to put Arsenal through to the final. This match saw Man City’s next opponent keep a clean sheet for the third time this season in the competition.
Manchester City must be at their best in the Carabao Cup final
Arsenal are yet to record any thrashings in the Carabao Cup, but the important thing is that they have been winning matches.
Each game, Arteta has found a way to lead his side to victory, even if that has meant advancing thanks to late goals or penalties.
This is a club who have been doing just about enough to keep on succeeding all season and Man City will have to produce something special in order to stop them doing the same on Sunday.
