Pep Guardiola reveals why Man City's EFL Cup win was extra "special" as Arsenal's tactical flaws exposed

Pep Guardiola has claimed that Manchester City winning the EFL Cup against this iteration of Arsenal made the victory even more special.

The Gunners were seen as favourites on Sunday when they clashed with the Citizens at Wembley, but they were beaten 2-0 thanks to two goals from Nico O'Reilly in the second half.

Arsenal are likely to advance into the semi-finals of the Champions League and FA Cup, and some supporters had dreamt of an unprecedented quadruple.

Guardiola insisted the win at Wembley was made more special because his team were able to overcome such a strong Gunners side, telling Sky Sports: "It means a lot. It's always difficult to win trophies.

"Alongside Bayern Munich and maybe Barcelona, to face the best team in Europe, they suffocated us for the first 15 minutes but after that we started to win a few more second balls.

"We won an incredible victory. The Carabao Cup is not the Premier League or the Champions League but a win against that team makes it a special title."

Arsenal and City are also competing for the Premier League, and Guardiola will hope that Sunday's win can boost his side in the final weeks of the campaign.

Were Arsenal's weaknesses exposed at Wembley by Pep Guardiola?

Mikel Arteta's side have often struggled to generate enough chances in open play against opponents, and they have frequently been saved by set pieces.

Guardiola was able to exacerbate those attacking issues by starving the Gunners' forward line of the ball, with his team ending the match with 62% possession.

City rarely pressed the Londoners' backline, and instead screened passes into midfield, which in turn forced play to be circulated out wide.

Perhaps other teams could look to use a similar pressing strategy in the final weeks of the season, and if clubs can take points from Arsenal, then the Premier League title race could go down to the wire.

Is Pep Guardiola underappreciated for his time in the Premier League?

During his time in England, Guardiola has won six Premier League titles, one Champions League trophy, two FA Cups and five EFL Cups, though some have highlighted that he has been able to spend significant sums on transfer fees and wages.

However, his success has been unprecedented, and he has consistently reinvented his sides to match Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp and Arsenal under Arteta.

There are many rumours suggesting that 2025-26 will be his final season at the Etihad, and if he moves on in the summer, there is no reason to not place him amongst the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson.