In February 2018, Pep Guardiola won his first title of the era at Manchester City with the League Cup silver cup. When the Spanish coach raised this title, Mikel Arteta - then his assistant - was standing right next to him.
In that year's final, Man City defeated Arsenal with a score of 3-0. In the post-match press conference, Pep Guardiola said that League Cup title could help The Citizens open a new era of resounding success and the truth is so.
Winning 1 title will be the premise for you to win more titles. Winning the first title with a club is very important because it will help us win the Premier League and Champions League in the future" - Pep shared in 2018.
Three months after this statement, Pep Guardiola and Man City won the Premier League and in the moment of lifting the title, Mikel Arteta was still the Spanish teacher's assistant.
Currently, Mikel Arteta's Arsenal, after many years of construction, is slightly stronger than Man City. In the Champions League, Arsenal has reached the quarter-finals and Man City stopped in the round of 16. In the Premier League, the gap between the two teams is 9 points. In the FA Cup, the two teams have reached the quarter-finals, but Man City is facing a strong opponent, Liverpool (Arsenal only clashes with Southampton). And in tonight's League Cup final, Arsenal is rated higher than Man City.
After tonight's League Cup final at Wembley, Arsenal and Man City will race together for more than 2 months in the Premier League to find the champion. If they still maintain their current form, The Gunners can win the championship a few rounds early.
In the press conference before tonight's match, Arteta reiterated Pep's words in 2018. He and Arsenal players seem to share the same view as Pep in 2018, all consider this year's League Cup very important.
Every victory is important and if you win a title, everything will become even more wonderful. It brings confidence, gives you the feeling that when you reach that point, you can do it and are capable enough to achieve everything you want" - Arteta shared.
For us, hopefully this is the time to put more titles in the display cabinet in the traditional room. We will reopen that door and keep it open to welcome more trophies" - Kepa shared.
Six years since the last time raising a title (FA Cup 2020), Arteta understands that his team must win many more times to be worthy of the fans' trust and the generous investment of the owners during that time. Arsenal is aiming for bigger titles than the League Cup such as the Premier League and Champions League, but as mentioned, tonight's League Cup may be the starting point.
In the current Arsenal squad, only Bukayo Saka is on the registered list to play in the FA Cup 2020 final. In the past 6 years, Arsenal has been completely empty-handed and often ridiculed as the runner-up. Three consecutive runner-up titles in the Premier League show stability in terms of form but have not been able to rise to a new level to enhance titles. Now, they need to prove that resilience.
FA Cup 2020 is the title that helped Arteta cling to during Arsenal's difficult period afterwards. And now if he wins the League Cup, this will be the cup that helps him confidently aim for greater goals. Arsenal is no longer built to maintain stability like competing in the Top 4 Premier League, they need to prove that hundreds of millions of pounds from owners thrown into the transfer market will be concretized by major titles. Now is the time to do that, as Mikel Arteta said "this is the time to shine".
If the League Cup final took place 2 months ago, it could have been a milestone for Arsenal and Man City to create momentum for the Premier League title race. But at this time, the pressure has decreased more for the "Gunners" in the Premier League. Arsenal's League Cup final history is quite bad with 2 wins and 6 losses. But tonight, the voice of history may no longer be present.
Not counting the English Super Cup match, this is also the first time Arsenal has played at Wembley in a final with the presence of fans since the defeat to Man City in this tournament 8 years ago. The semi-finals and finals of the FA Cup in 2020 were both without spectators at Wembley due to the COVID-19 epidemic. Therefore, before this match, Arteta called on The Gunners fans to create an atmosphere of a festival.
For Arsenal and Arteta at this time, the League Cup title has never been more important.
