The last time Manchester City defeated Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final marked the beginning of coach Pep Guardiola's reign.
Therefore, the victory over the "Gunners" at Wembley recently may become a milestone closing a decade of dominance of the Spanish strategist with English football.
Although the Carabao Cup is only considered Man City's fourth priority title each season, a convincing victory over an opponent that Guardiola himself admits is the strongest team in England - even possibly in Europe - still has special meaning.
Regardless of how the rest of the season goes, as Man City is still chasing Arsenal in the Premier League title race and still has a great opportunity in the FA Cup, Guardiola will definitely cherish this moment.
He will remember the way he defeated his former student Mikel Arteta, as well as the moment Nico O'Reilly - a young talent who was brought up to the first team by Guardiola at the age of 17 - scored to defeat Arsenal.
Some opinions suggest that this may be a suitable time for Guardiola to close his journey at the end of the season, before his contract enters its final year. Leaving with his head held high after another title would be a beautiful ending to a successful era.
However, after witnessing the potential of this young and new team, Guardiola should probably continue to stay. The team is in a transitional phase but still shows significant strength, and the most attractive question at this time is how far Guardiola can take the new generation of Man City.
Guardiola's celebration at Wembley clearly showed his intense emotions. The Spanish strategist kicked the billboard, received a yellow card and still did not regret screaming: "Give me another yellow card, but I will still celebrate. I have proven that I am not artificial intelligence. I am human, and I want to celebrate that".
That explosive reaction shows that, despite winning countless titles in his career, Guardiola still maintains his passion and excitement when winning big matches, especially when his team shows impressive form.
Guardiola has never hidden his desire to conquer titles. After regaining the Premier League title in 2021, he once admitted: "It's addictive, it's great. It's addictive, and then why do you have to stop? Why don't we continue to try to improve and repeat that?
The Spanish strategist also affirmed that he only thinks about leaving when he no longer feels interested: "When you feel enough and no longer interested, it's time to say goodbye. But if the players still want to continue, then we will continue".
Last year, after the worst season in his career in terms of results, Guardiola frankly shared about how failures affected his personal life.
I want to suffer when I don't win the match. I want to feel bad. I want to sleep poorly. I want when things get bad, it has to affect me. I want that. I'm angry, the food also becomes blander" - the Man City captain said.
The Spanish strategist admitted that negative emotions are also an important part of his life: "I don't need to eat much, because I need to feel that anger. If not, what does winning or losing mean? We live in this world to experience different emotions, different states.
That intense passion for football also affects Guardiola's private life. His marriage is somewhat fractured by his almost absolute dedication to work. He often returns to Barcelona whenever he has free time, and has even missed some press conferences this season.
However, Barcelona is no longer the place to hold onto Guardiola as before. His children have grown up and can visit him in Manchester, just like his eldest daughter Maria once appeared at Wembley to share the moment of victory.
When in Manchester, Guardiola was completely immersed in football. He is starting to build a new chapter, a new masterpiece in his coaching career. And with all that, the question is why Guardiola left at this time.
