{"id":604,"date":"2026-03-18T19:37:29","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T19:37:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/?p=604"},"modified":"2026-03-18T19:37:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T19:37:29","slug":"arsenal-star-sends-message-to-mikel-arteta-ahead-of-key-carabao-cup-final-decision-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/?p=604","title":{"rendered":"Arsenal star sends message to Mikel Arteta ahead of key Carabao Cup final decision | Football"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n\t\t\"Arsenal\t<\/div>
Kepa Arrizabalaga has deputised for David Raya in the domestic cup competitions this season (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kepa Arrizabalaga hopes his past Carabao Cup final experiences can help Arsenal end their six-year trophy drought as Mikel Arteta ponders which of his Spanish goalkeepers to select ahead of Sunday\u2019s Wembley showdown. <\/p>\n

The 31-year-old joined the Gunners from Chelsea in the summer and has proved a more than capable deputy to the club\u2019s No.1 and his compatriot David Raya. <\/p>\n

All nine of Kepa\u2019s appearances for his current club have come in the domestic cup competitions and the indications are that he will maintain his place in the starting XI against Manchester City.<\/p>\n

The significance of the game allied to Raya\u2019s outstanding form have left Arteta with a difficult decision to make but if he is, as expected, selected Kepa is confident he will not let his manager down. <\/p>\n

\u2018The atmosphere at Wembley is so special, everything around the game is special \u2013 the build-up and everything,\u2019 he said. <\/p>\n

\u2018You know you are out there playing for a title, and right now in this moment of football, every title is so difficult to get.<\/p>\n

\u2018You know you are one game away to be able to lift a trophy. Obviously, it\u2019s going to be a tough game, a very difficult game, but we\u2019ll go for it. <\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\"Arsenal\t<\/div>
Kepa Arrizabalaga was the Arsenal hero in their quarter final win over Crystal Palace (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018I have played in the League Cup final before, but I have played many finals in my career, I have been lucky in that way.<\/p>\n

\u2018So I will just approach the game the best way that I can. We will prepare everything in the best way, because at the end the aim is to win.<\/p>\n

\u2018Just focus on the game, focus on us and prepare for the opponent. That\u2019s it. I don\u2019t think we need to approach anything differently.\u2019<\/p>\n

Kepa\u2019s previous experiences of Wembley in this competition have been memorable but for all the wrong reasons.<\/p>\n

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Who should Mikel Arteta pick in goal vs Man City<\/h3>\n
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    David Raya – he’s too good to leave outCheck<\/title>\n<\/svg><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n
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    Kepa – he’s got to remain loyal Check<\/title>\n<\/svg><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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    Seven years ago last month he refused to leave the pitch ahead of a penalty shootout against City with his then manager, Maurizio Sarri, desperate to replace him with Willy Caballero.<\/p>\n

    Having ignored his coach, Kepa failed to save a single spot kick as City triumphed at Chelsea\u2019s expense and it was a similar, if less controversial,in 2022 when, after 11 successful Liverpool penalties, Kepa blazed his attempt over the crossbar to hand victory to Jurgen Klopp\u2019s men.<\/p>\n

    Another shot at League Cup redemption awaits this weekend, but Kepa knowns victory is anything but a forgone conclusion against a City side who will be licking their wounds after Tuesday night\u2019s Champions League exit.<\/p>\n

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    \n\t\t\"\"\t<\/div>
    Kepa Arrizabalaga missed the decisive spot-kick against Liverpool (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    He said: \u2018We have big players who have played in big games, in finals, in the Euros, in the World Cup, in the Champions League. We know what it is to play in big games every three days.<\/p>\n

    \u2018Manchester City have great players in every position, they are one of the strongest teams without a doubt. <\/p>\n

    \u2018They have a lot of different options and depth of quality. For us though, hopefully this could be a way for us to open our trophy cabinet, and to keep it open.\u2019<\/p>\n

    Arrow<\/title>\n<\/svg>MORE: Sandro Tonali stance on \u00a3100m Man Utd transfer after Arsenal and Chelsea interest<\/span><\/p>\n

    Arrow<\/title>\n<\/svg>MORE: Danny Murphy names Champions League \u2018favourites\u2019 after Arsenal beat Bayer Leverkusen<\/span><\/p>\n

    Arrow<\/title>\n<\/svg>MORE: Paul Merson praises \u2018absolutely outstanding\u2019 Arsenal star in Bayer Leverkusen win<\/span><\/p>\n
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    Kepa Arrizabalaga has deputised for David Raya in the domestic cup competitions this season (Picture:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":605,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arsenal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=604"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}