Mikel Arteta has defended his decision to start Kepa Arrizabalaga in the Carabao Cup final, despite the goalkeeper's costly error that handed Manchester City a 2-0 victory at Wembley. The Arsenal manager said it would have been 'very unfair' to drop the Spaniard, who had played throughout the club's run in the competition.
Kepa, on loan from Chelsea, spilled a cross from Rayan Cherki, allowing Nico O'Reilly to open the scoring. David Raya, Arsenal's first-choice goalkeeper and the Premier League's leader in clean sheets, was left on the bench. Arteta insisted the decision was based on merit and fairness. 'I have to do what I feel is right, which is honest and which is fair,' he said.
Arteta denied that Kepa had been promised cup appearances when he joined, stating that players must earn their places. 'I can never promise a player to play certain competitions because at the end they have to earn it,' he explained. 'Errors are part of football and today it happened unfortunately in a crucial moment.'
The defeat leaves Arsenal without a major trophy since 2020. Arteta described the loss as leaving a 'bad taste' but said the team would use the disappointment as motivation for the remainder of the season. 'We're going to use this fire in the belly to have the most amazing two months that we have ever had together,' he added.
Eberechi Eze was ruled out of the final with a calf problem and will undergo a scan later this week. Arteta confirmed that the midfielder will not be available for England's upcoming friendlies against Uruguay and Japan.
