- Man City beat Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final
- Pep Guardiola does not think this will affect the Premier League
- There is still time for the Gunners to drop points
Manchester City may have won the first English trophy of the season, but Pep Guardiola is not about to get his hopes up concerning the Premier League.
The Carabao Cup has been placed in the trophy cabinet at the Etihad Stadium, after Manchester City’s victory against Arsenal.
This, of course, has led to questions about whether the Citizens have what it takes to catch up with their title rivals in the Premier League.
Some players have already had their say, with Antoine Semenyo claiming Man City have more confidence after the final.
However, Pep Guardiola is not so keen to speculate about the English top flight, especially due to his team’s league position.
Pep Guardiola separates the Carabao Cup from the Premier League
The League Cup has no direct impact on the Premier League, but Sunday’s result could impact both the mentality of both Man City and Arsenal moving forwards.
Despite this, Pep Guardiola has been keen to remind everyone that the Premier League is a different competition entirely and Arsenal have a sizeable lead over his team.
"I would like to be nine points in front of Arsenal!" 🤔
— Hayters TV (@HaytersTV) March 22, 2026
"The Premier League is in their hands." 👀
Let the Pep Guardiola mind games begin 🧠 pic.twitter.com/rEbmmPWs8a
“I would like to be nine points in front of Arsenal,” Guardiola told Hayters TV.
“[This game] will have no impact, it’s different competitions. They will be more concerned when they come to the Etihad, this will help us at the Etihad against Liverpool.
“The Premier League is in their hands, they punish us a lot. There were two periods, the three draws with Sunderland, Brighton and Chelsea and then this one with Forest and West Ham.
“If they drop points, we are going to try to win our games and we will see what happens.”
Manchester City must avoid getting carried away
Using the Carabao Cup win to build momentum can only be a positive, but one good result does not automatically reverse a string of bad ones.
Man City have been poor of late in the Premier League and they were even wrose against Real Madrid in the Champions League.
The gap separating them from Arsenal is still fairly wide and their new found confidence must be matched with a solid work ethic if they are to have a shot at the title.
Guardiola is right that the Premier League is in Arsenal’s hands, but the chance might come for City to close the gap. If it does, they must seize it.
