Pep Guardiola rallies City for Carabao final against Arsenal after UCL exit
By Luke Oluoch, March 18, 2026Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has shifted the team’s focus to their decisive Carabao Cup final against pitting the club against Arsenal on Sunday, March 22, 2026.
The tie will see the Premier League contenders go head-to-head, with early silverware of domestic glory at stake.
With City fresh from elimination from the UEFA Champions League after a 6-1 aggregate loss to Real Madrid on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, Guardiola says 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.”
This encounter starts a run of seven games that could prove pivotal to the Manchester club’s season.
A home clash against rivals Liverpool in the quarter-final will follow on Saturday, April 4, 2026, after the international break, with league games against Chelsea and Arsenal immediately after.
Result not good
Speaking ahead of the run-ins, the Spaniard asserted that his charges have been doing everything right, with results only not going their way.
“After one or two weeks, we play against them in the Premier League, and it is a good mirror to see what we have to do to achieve [like] them. I am old enough to see that one football game is not the big happiness, and a loss is not the end of the world; it’s just a game.
“In the end, the results have not been good except for Newcastle, but I have the feeling we are an extraordinary team with many, many, many good things that I love.
“We are still not complete; we are not aware in certain moments and departments. We have to be more clinical, but my feeling is it is a question of time.
With their trophy prospects now reduced to three.