This is Guardiola's 5th Carabao Cup title in the past 10 years. Arsenal will meet Man City again at the Etihad Stadium on April 19, in a Premier League match. Currently, Arsenal is leading the table with 70 points, 9 points more than Man City and has played one more match.
With a large gap and the remaining 8 matches, Guardiola believes that Arsenal is unlikely to decline in form due to the defeat in the Carabao Cup final.
I want to lead by 9 points to be able to compete for the Premier League title. I don't think that will have any impact, it's a different competition and Arsenal will be more worried when they come to the Etihad.
The Premier League title is in their hands. We have one more match to play and will meet Arsenal at home, we will try to win our matches, and we will see what happens," Guardiola said.
This is the 19th title in the time Guardiola has led Man City. The future of this strategist with the Etihad club is still uncertain, but in the immediate future he wants to enjoy the victory against Arsenal.
He said: "They overwhelmed us in the first 15 minutes as usual, but then we started to win a few ball contests. Today, we saw ourselves and our level when facing the strongest team. Man City has shown their true ability.
We won an incredible victory. Carabao Cup is not the Champions League or Premier League, everyone knows that, but the victory over Arsenal makes the title special”.
Meanwhile, coach Mikel Arteta emphasized that the defeat in the Carabao Cup final will help Arsenal focus more on the Premier League title race. He wants the players to turn the "pain" of losing, to play sublimely together in the last 2 months of the season. At this time, in addition to the Premier League, Arsenal also has a chance to win the FA Cup and UEFA Champions League.
He said: "I want the players to have a more objective view. What Arsenal has done in the past eight months is incredible, and we will turn disappointment and the fire of determination into motivation to have the best two months that the whole team has ever had together.
That is our responsibility, we will manage our energy properly. The defeat at the Carabao Cup hurts and disappoints us, but that is normal and part of football.
