When it comes to technical ability, Manchester City are head and shoulders above Arsenal, and the Carabao Cup final proved it.
Arsenal lost 2-0 to Man City in the Carabao Cup final, a result that few would have anticipated heading into the fixture.
The Gunners headed to Wembley as the more in-form team after all, but when it came down to it under the arch, Pep Guardiola left Mikel Arteta with no answers.
If one watch of Arsenal’s performance in the final wasn’t enough, then a second was, as upon rewatching what unfolded at Wembley, I realised that the Gunners are desperately missing a certain profile of player.
- READ MORE: Mikel Arteta should have known better: Kepa was always going to let Arsenal down at Wembley
Who was Arsenal’s WORST player against Manchester City?
Carabao Cup final exposed how little technical quality Arsenal have
As a loyal Arsenal fan, one thing I know about my team this season is that control and defensive solidity are guaranteed.
The issue is that, aside from that, another guarantee is a lack of attacking spark, and against Man City, that was more evident than ever.
Arsenal have been accused of having no superstars in attack, and to be honest, I agreed with that feedback after watching the Carabao Cup final again.
I realised that, at any moment of the game, if one team was going to produce a moment of magic, it would be Man City, as when it comes to offering some spark, Arsenal are out of answers.
The usual deliverers of excitement, Eberechi Eze and Martin Odegaard, were out of action, which really revealed how much technical quality this Arsenal squad are missing.
Tell us YOUR biggest concern from the Carabao Cup final
Explain your answers!
We don’t have a Rayan Cherki, Bernardo Silva, Antoine Semenyo, Jeremy Doku or Erling Haaland, but we do have a lot of talented players who execute the basics very well.
The issue with that is that, beyond their comfortable dimensions, there’s no alternative, and that’s how Man City caught Arsenal out.
Arteta has built a squad of giants and players that thrive on control, but the cost that has come at is that there’s no room for a technical mastermind.
No attacking player at Wembley emerged as a figure who can single-handedly produce a match-winning moment, not even Bukayo Saka, who was awful.
Imagine you are Andrea Berta. Who is your top target for Arsenal in the summer transfer window?
I worry about how far one-dimensional attacking football can take a team once they’ve been figured out, as at Wembley, we saw Arsenal run out of ideas within the first half.
This squad is crying out for a technician, a world-class forward who can make the difference, which ultimately, we realised last year in the summer transfer window.
Change is needed in Arteta’s attack because, not being exciting and winning is one thing, but not having any answers when behind is another, and that’s a real concern.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
