Pep Guardiola said he does not expect Manchester City’s Carabao Cup victory over Arsenal to have any impact on the title race and believes it could refocus Mikel Arteta’s side ahead of its visit to the Etihad Stadium.
City won 2-0 at Wembley on Sunday thanks to two second-half headers from Nico O’Reilly to earn Guardiola his fifth Carabao Cup success in 10 years.
The two teams meet again in the Premier League on April 19.
But sitting nine points behind with eight games to go, Guardiola said it’s a long shot to think Arsenal will suffer a dip because of their cup final disappointment.
“I would like to be nine points in front to fight for the Premier League,” Guardiola said.
“I don’t think it will have an impact, different competition and they will be more concerned when they come to the Etihad.
“The Premier League is in their hands,” he said. “We have a game in hand and Arsenal at home, and we are going to try to win our games, and we will see what happens.”
Guardiola celebrated both goals at Wembley wildly, including sprinting down the touchline when O’Reilly headed in his second of the afternoon.
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It’s the 19th trophy of his spell at the Etihad, and the 55-year-old — whose future beyond the summer is up in the air — said he is determined to relish the success.
“Always winning a title is difficult, so it’s a joy and the satisfaction alongside,” he said.
“They suffocated us in the first 15 minutes like they normally do, but after that we started to win a little bit of the second balls.
“We made an incredible victory,” he added. “The Carabao Cup is not the Champions League or the Premier League, everyone knows that, but winning against that team makes the title special.”
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