Man City cut Arsenal down to size as O'Reilly double seals League Cup final

LONDON, March 22 : Manchester City reasserted themselves as trophy hunters supreme as they gave Arsenal a chastening reality check with a 2-0 victory in the League Cup final thanks to Nico O'Reilly's second-half double at Wembley on Sunday.

Premier League leaders Arsenal arrived on the crest of a wave and as favourites to win their first silverware since 2020 but were found wanting as City recovered from a rocky start to deservedly win the competition for the ninth time.

Five of those have come since Pep Guardiola arrived in 2016 and the Spaniard is now the most successful manager in the competition's history, moving past Jose Mourinho, Alex Ferguson and Brian Clough who all won it four times.

It might be one of the sweetest triumphs of Guardiola's vast collection too as his impressive side shrugged off their midweek elimination in the Champions League by Real Madrid to make a mockery of talk of power shifts and Arsenal quadruples.

"Unbelievable feeling. To win a final, to beat this team we know how good they are," the 21-year-old O'Reilly, the youngest player to score a brace in the League Cup final since Wayne Rooney for Manchester United in 2006, said.

"We need to build on it, it will give us good momentum."

Arsenal had not won the League Cup since 1993 but Sunday's game offered a gilt-edged chance to shed the 'nearly-men' tag that had weighed on their shoulders.

Mikel Arteta's side simply failed to show up though and will now have to dust themselves down after the international break as they try to clinch a first Premier League title since 2004 and continue their quest for the FA Cup and Champions League.

'PAIN AND DISAPPOINTMENT'

Arteta has now lost 10 of his 17 meetings with Guardiola, winning four, since leaving his post