Carabao Cup final: Arteta speaks about Arsenal prospects & learning from Guardiola
By Luke Oluoch, March 20, 2026Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has spoken up on the prospect of facing his teacher and compatriot Pep Guardiola in the English Football League Cup final.
The Gunners face Manchester City at 7.30pm on Sunday, March 22, 2026, with the prospect of early silverware at stake.
Speaking to the press on Friday, March 20, 2026, the Spaniard dismissed the assertion that he was nervous ahead of the final clash.
“No. Not today. Excited. Enthusiastic. Positive,” the arsenal boss opened.
With Man City having seen better days in the competition against England peers since the arrival of Pep Guardiola, the Arsenal manager heads into the tie on an equally good record of zero losses in four times both as a player and manager.
He, however, has been quick to downplay the statistics, instead attributing his luck to having been able to work as Pep’s apprentice.
“It is going to be one of the defining moments of the season. We need to prove our point; that’s clear. It needs to be done on the pitch,” says Arteta.
“Master vs. Apprentice”
“It’s not about the apprentice and the master. In this profession, you are constantly learning, constantly evolving. I was lucky to work with Pep, but you have to continue to evolve.”
With the two sides possibly the last men standing in the race for the 2025/26 league season, Arteta knows how the victory against their most immediate and close challengers could seal a significant psychological edge to further propulse their league chase.
“It’s about the next step, the next game; you need certain moments to go your way,” Arteta, who will be looking to secure Arsenal’s first major silverware since 2020, added.
“Winning always helps. It gives you confidence, a feeling you can do it when it comes to that moment,” he added.
On Tuesday, March 17, 2026, Guardiola previewed the encounter with sentiment that they will be leaving nothing to chance against an opposition he described as the best team in England and Europe.
Best team in Europe
“On Monday [after the Carabao Cup final], hopefully we will wake up, and it is a sunny day,” said Guardiola. “It is not crucial; it is a football game. We are going to try to win with a good performance,” he said, as quoted by the BBC
“We will challenge against the best team in England so far, the best team in Europe, because look at their results in the group phase; they were first and have lost three or four games all season. We will challenge them, and we have to see how we are competing against them.”