MANCHESTER, England (AP) — When Arsenal and Manchester City lock horns in the English League Cup final on Sunday there will be more at stake than the first domestic silverware of the season.
The trophy is the tangible reward. The intangibles could ripple further, especially on the Premier League title race.
With all due respect, the League Cup would have ranked at the bottom of the priority list for Arsenal and City when the season began. The Premier League and the Champions League would rank at the top and the FA Cup somewhere in between.
The League Cup, however, has taken on greater significance given both finalists’ rivalry in the context of the season.
The winner at Wembley Stadium could deal the loser a huge psychological blow.
For Arsenal — top of the table and nine points ahead of City — there would be further confirmation of its superiority over its main title rival. That is important for a team that has appeared to have an inferiority complex when it comes to City, after losing the title twice in recent years from commanding positions.
For manager Mikel Arteta, who was once Pep Guardiola’s assistant at City, it will be evidence that he can get the better of his former mentor when it comes to lifting major trophies.
That is still very much in question, even in a year when Arsenal is vying for an unprecedented quadruple.
Should City triumph on Sunday there is the danger that the damage to Arsenal’s confidence would send its season into a tailspin.
That is the sort of psychological impact Guardiola would likely want to inflict: To sow seeds of doubt into an Arsenal team that still has to play City at Etihad Stadium. And with City having a game in hand on Arteta’s team, there is the potential that the lead could be down to three points after the match in Manchester.
Another intangible is momentum, which at this stage of the campaign is so crucial.
City’s ambitions have hit some road bumps in recent weeks. Like Arsenal, City was also targeting a quadruple. But back-to-back draws in the league and elimination from Real Madrid in the Champions League have left City with two trophies to play for.
Defeat in the League Cup final — a trophy Guardiola has won four times at City — would add to the sense that the season is unravelling.
With speculation that this could be Guardiola’s final year at City, the League Cup may well be his best chance of going out on a winning note.
Key matchups
Tottenham vs. Nottingham Forest is a six-pointer in terms of the battle for survival. Spurs are one point and one place above Forest just outside the relegation zone.
Spurs are still without a league win in 2026 but picked up an unexpected point against Liverpool last week and beat Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday — a result that wasn’t enough to avoid elimination.
Are these the signs of a turnaround in fortunes?
West Ham, which is level on points with Forest in the last relegation spot, is at Aston Villa.
Newcastle and Sunderland meet in the Tyne-Weir derby.
Players to watch
Benjamin Sesko is on fire for Manchester United. His goal against Aston Villa last week was his eighth in 10 games. That statistic is even more impressive given he was a substitute in six of those games. United travels to Bournemouth on Friday.
Out of action
Mohamed Salah was substituted against Galatasaray on Wednesday after feeling discomfort. Jurrien Timber is a doubt for the League Cup final after missing Arsenal’s game against Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday. Martin Odegaard is pushing for a return from a knee injury.
Off the field
It’s been a bad week for Chelsea on and off the field. On Monday came a $14.3 million fine and a suspended transfer ban for making undisclosed payments of more than $60 million under previous owner Roman Abramovich. A day later and Chelsea was eliminated from the Champions League at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain, going out 8-2 on aggregate. Meanwhile, defeat to Newcastle last week delivered a blow to its bid to secure a top five finish and qualification for next season’s Champions League. With scrutiny on inexperienced coach Liam Rosenior, Chelsea could really do with good news when it plays Everton on Saturday.
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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
