Kepa Arrizabalaga gesture at full-time says it all as Arsenal pay price for his blunder

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Kepa Arrizabalaga was at fault for the opening goal in Arsenal's Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City on Sunday

Kepa Arrizabalaga received consolation from goalkeepers on both sides at the final whistle after his costly error paved the way for Arsenal's latest final disappointment as Manchester City secured the Carabao Cup.

The Spanish shot-stopper retained his place in goal for the Gunners throughout their journey to the Wembley showpiece, but he fumbled a second-half delivery which allowed Nico O'Reilly to break the deadlock.

The City left-back would add a second just four minutes afterwards as they controlled the latter period to lift the season's opening piece of silverware. The afternoon's first goal was always destined to prove decisive, and ultimately stemmed from an error by the Arsenal custodian.

However, at the final whistle each goalkeeper took time to offer support to Kepa. David Raya was among the Arsenal substitutes whil James Trafford was selected for City. They also had Gianluigi Donnarumma amongst their replacements.

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Kepa has suffered multiple disappointments in the Carabao Cup final. In 2019 he featured in a Chelsea team that fell to Guardiola's side on penalties and in 2022 he again tasted defeat from the spot, that time against Liverpool.

The former Blue transferred to Arsenal during the summer but has been forced to accept a reserve position with Raya the undisputed first-choice at the Emirates. He was fortunate to escape harsher punishment moments before conceding the opener.

He advanced for a long delivery but miscalculated it and was forced to pull back Jeremy Doku. He received a yellow card rather than a sending-off. Former Gunner Ian Wright remarked on Sky Sports that the mistake from Kepa "has cost us".

The Spanish shot-stopper has featured fewer than 10 times this campaign, yet Arteta maintained his trust in him. City similarly persisted with their second-choice keeper, with Trafford selected ahead of Donnarumma.

Jamie Redknapp delivered a withering assessment of Arsenal's choice to persist with Kepa, despite having Raya at their disposal with silverware on the line.

He stated: "Kepa is not as good as Raya, that's why he's your No 2. So why in a major final, when you're trying to get across the line, you've not won a trophy in so long, do you decide to play him.

"You have to take responsibility for that, that's a monumental error. I'm not saying he's a bad goalkeeper, but he's not as good as Raya. You can turn around and say Trafford isn't your No.1 either, but he made three big saves and then he was hardly tested."

The defeat marked Arsenal's fourth consecutive loss in the Carabao Cup final, previously known by other names. They suffered defeat to City in 2018.