Arsenal's trust issues laid bare: The key takeaways from Man City's EFL Cup final triumph

On Sunday afternoon, Manchester City lifted the first major honour of the 2025-26 English football calendar, beating Arsenal in the EFL Cup final.

Over 88,000 spectators packed into Wembley Stadium to watch Pep Guardiola's underdogs secure the trophy following a goalless first period, with Citizens academy graduate Nico O'Reilly bagging a second-half brace.

Here, Sports Mole discusses some of the main talking points post-match, with a view towards the remaining weeks of the season.

ARSENAL 0-2 MAN CITY: THE NICO O'REILLY FINAL

After managing nine Premier League appearances during the 2024-25 campaign, Manchester City's Nico O'Reilly has enjoyed a true breakthrough term in 2025-26 with 23 top-flight starts, and the youngster enjoyed the biggest moment of his blossoming career to date on Sunday.

The Citizens were having great joy attacking Arsenal down the right flank and lofting balls into the box, where the 21-year-old left-back found himself on two occasions in the space of four second-half minutes to bag a brace.

Now up to 13 goal contributions (eight goals, five assists) in all competitions, O'Reilly has provided in an offensive sense more times than any other Man City defender, giving the Englishman a unique selling point, as well as a place in the club's history books after Sunday's double.

ARSENAL 0-2 MAN CITY: LOYALTY EXISTS IN FOOTBALL

However, there will be a large section of Arsenal supporters going about their weeks wishing that loyalty had no place at the Emirates or London Colney, especially in the department of picking match-winning XIs.

Kept out of Premier League action by the impressive David Raya, Kepa Arrizabalaga has played on 10 occasions for the Gunners in cup competitions, with the Spaniard making the headlines during his sixth EFL Cup feature of the term for all of the wrong reasons.

The 31-year-old looked like a goalkeeper who had played just six matches so far in 2026, making a few nervy decisions early in the second half before essentially fumbling the ball into O'Reilly's path to gift Man City the lead at Wembley.

ARSENAL 0-2 MAN CITY: GUNNERS HAVE TRUST ISSUES

Before Sunday's showdown with Man City at the national stadium, Arsenal were boasting a 14-game unbeaten run (W11 D3) in all competitions stretching back to late January, seemingly in prime position to lift their first piece of silverware in six years.

Whilst the Gunners have been praised for their ability to win ugly in recent - particularly during recent away matches at Brighton & Hove Albion and Mansfield Town - the complete opposite was on show from Mikel Arteta's men over the weekend.

The North Londoners enjoyed a bright start at Wembley before freezing in the second half, failing to score in a match for the first time since the goalless encounter at Nottingham Forest on January 17, proving that Arsenal cannot be trusted in the trophy-clinching moments just yet.

ARSENAL 0-2 MAN CITY: ANTOINE'S ASTRONOMICAL RISE

On the corresponding weekend eight years ago, Man City's Antoine Semenyo was turning out for Bath City in National League South - the sixth tier of English football - losing a home fixture to Havant & Waterlooville in front of measly Twerton Park crowd.

Fast-forward to March 2026 and the World Cup-bound Ghana international played the entire match for a Guardiola side at Wembley Stadium, playing a key part in the Citizens clinching their eighth EFL Cup title.

Semenyo has completed an astronomical rise from a diamond in the rough of regional football to the main lights of the Champions League, with the 26-year-old stating that Sunday's success is set to be 'the first of many' at Man City.