Carabao Cup final 2026 archive: Arsenal 0–2 Manchester City
Nico O’Reilly’s two headers decided the 2026 Carabao Cup final. Confirmed teams, routes to Wembley and our original missed prediction sit beside the result.
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Manchester City beat Arsenal 2–0 at Wembley on 22 March 2026. Nico O’Reilly headed both goals. This archive adds the completed result to our original final preview, keeps the routes to Wembley and records the prediction we got wrong; it does not present the final as an upcoming betting opportunity.
The result and the decisive second-half spell
The teams reached half-time at 0–0. James Trafford had already denied Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka in an early sequence of saves. At 60 minutes, Kepa Arrizabalaga failed to hold Rayan Cherki’s cross and O’Reilly headed in. Four minutes later O’Reilly headed Matheus Nunes’ delivery for the second goal. City’s official match report identifies the crosses; the first came from Cherki, not Semenyo.
Arsenal’s substitutes Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Jesus hit the post and crossbar respectively, but neither scored. The final ended in regulation time, with no extra time or shootout.
City’s title report records an attendance of 88,486. It was their ninth League Cup success and Guardiola’s fifth as manager, leaving City one title behind Liverpool’s ten. Bernardo Silva captained the winning side.
The confirmed starting teams
The EFL’s final report records these starting elevens, not the predicted teams from our preview. Kepa and Trafford started in goal. A predicted selection does not establish that a player actually appeared.
| Team | Starting eleven |
|---|---|
| Arsenal | Kepa Arrizabalaga, Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel, Piero Hincapié, Declan Rice, Martín Zubimendi, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Viktor Gyökeres, Leandro Trossard |
| Manchester City | James Trafford, Matheus Nunes, Abdukodir Khusanov, Nathan Aké, Nico O’Reilly, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Antoine Semenyo, Rayan Cherki, Jérémy Doku, Erling Haaland |
Arsenal used Calafiori, Noni Madueke, Gabriel Martinelli and Jesus as substitutes; Phil Foden replaced Cherki late on for City. The old preview’s injuries and fitness guesses are not current medical updates.
How both clubs reached Wembley
Arsenal’s round-by-round account and the EFL’s City route record these ties. The table records the home-listed team first and names each finalist’s scorers, not every scorer for the opposition. The Palace shootout score is separate from the 1–1 match score.
| Round | Arsenal result | Arsenal scorers | City result | City scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Third round | Port Vale 0–2 Arsenal | Eze, Trossard | Huddersfield 0–2 City | Foden, Savinho |
| Fourth round | Arsenal 2–0 Brighton | Nwaneri, Saka | Swansea 1–3 City | Doku, Marmoush, Cherki |
| Quarter-final | Arsenal 1–1 Crystal Palace; Arsenal won 8–7 on penalties | Lacroix own goal | City 2–0 Brentford | Cherki, Savinho |
| Semi-final, first leg | Chelsea 2–3 Arsenal | White, Gyökeres, Zubimendi | Newcastle 0–2 City | Semenyo, Cherki |
| Semi-final, second leg | Arsenal 1–0 Chelsea | Havertz | City 3–1 Newcastle | Marmoush (2), Reijnders |
Arsenal advanced 4–2 on aggregate against Chelsea; City advanced 5–1 against Newcastle. Across their five matches before the final, Arsenal scored nine and conceded three, while City scored twelve and conceded two. City did not concede just once: Swansea and Newcastle each scored against them. Shootout kicks are excluded from these goal totals.
What the original preview expected
Our preview weighed Arsenal’s organisation and recent results against City’s attacking options and Guardiola’s experience of finals. It expected a competitive game in which Arsenal’s wide players and midfield pressure could trouble City, while Haaland and the supporting attackers offered a threat at the other end. Those are pre-match assessments, not findings from a first-hand attendance at Wembley.
The original forecast was 2–2 after 90 minutes, still 2–2 after extra time, with City winning on penalties. It missed the score and method of victory. Retaining that forecast beside the 0–2 result avoids converting an unsuccessful prediction into a winning tip after the event.
The preview also highlighted dead-ball opportunities and how Arsenal might respond to City’s pressure. The report’s decisive incidents were two open-play crosses and O’Reilly’s movement into the area. That does not establish an account payout, a successful builder or a corners/cards total.
Selection questions before the final
Arsenal’s contemporary preview identified uncertainty over Martin Ødegaard and Jurriën Timber, and confirmed that Marc Guéhi was cup-tied after playing for Palace earlier in the competition. The proposed BCP City eleven which included Guéhi was therefore not an eligible final team. The actual line-ups above settle who started without turning the earlier fitness debate into a claim about anyone’s health today.
The same primary preview confirms Peter Bankes as referee, with Neil Davies and Steve Meredith assisting, Tom Bramall as fourth official, John Brooks on VAR and Dan Robathan as assistant VAR. The final kicked off at 16:30 UK time. These details identify this specific March fixture; they are not a listing for a future Arsenal–City meeting.
The context, without an invented trophy drought
The final gave Arsenal a chance to add another trophy under Arteta, not a first-ever trophy under him. Arsenal’s official account recalls their 2020 FA Cup semi-final win over City and describes Arteta’s opportunity to win both of his major finals. Their defeat here should not erase that earlier cup success.
Our older preview selected six meetings from the 2023 Community Shield through September 2025 to discuss the rivalry. That was a historical sample, not a complete current head-to-head sequence. City’s win at Wembley belongs after those earlier meetings, and a selected run of results cannot guarantee the next one.
Checking an old football bet
A 90-minute result, a team to lift the trophy and a penalty-shootout winner ask different questions. Here City won both the match and the competition without extra time. A named scorer, handicap or builder still requires its own exact selection and accepted rules; the full-time score alone cannot settle every market.
The old bet365 prices lack a reproducible timestamp and are not live odds; they are not reproduced here. It makes no claim that a customer placed a bet or received a payout. For the separate first/second-leg context, see BCP’s semi-final guide; the Bet Builder guide explains same-match combinations.
For current markets unrelated to this finished fixture, you can view bet365 sports. The archived prediction above is not a current selection.
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