1 hour ago
2
Kepa Arrizabalaga is looking forward to the Carabao Cup final between Arsenal and Manchester City at Wembley Stadium on Sunday
Kepa Arrizabalaga is hoping Arsenal can win a number of trophies this season, starting with the Carabao Cup on Sunday.
The Gunners face Manchester City at Wembley Stadium with Mikel Arteta's side still in the hunt for a remarkable quadruple. Gunners No.2 Kepa, who is set to play in the final, believes success in the Carabao Cup final can give them a taste for winning - and put them in the mood for more success.
Arsenal are nine points clear of City at the top of the Premier League and have a quarter-final FA Cup tie at Southampton ahead of them. They also reached the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday evening following their 2-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen.
FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE! Latest Gunners news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page
Pep Guardiola's men crashed out of Europe and an Arsenal win on Sunday could also strike a real confidence blow and lay down a marker for the rest of the campaign.
Kepa said: “We have big players who have played in big games, in finals, in the Euros, in the World Cup, in the Champions League. We know what it is to play in big games every three days.
“Manchester City have great players in every position, they are one of the strongest teams without a doubt. They have a lot of different options and depth of quality. For us though, hopefully this could be a way for us to open our trophy cabinet, and to keep it open.”
Kepa has played in two League Cup finals before but finished on the losing side in 2019 and 2022 well before his move to Arsenal. He is now understudy to Arsenal No1 David Raya but has played through the rounds in the domestic cups and is fully expected to start Sunday’s final.
He added: “The atmosphere at Wembley is so special, everything around the game is special - the build-up and everything. You know you are out there playing for a title, and right now in this moment of football, every title is so difficult to get.
“You know you are one game away to be able to lift a trophy. Obviously, it’s going to be a tough game, a very difficult game, but we’ll go for it. I have played in the League Cup final before, but I have played many finals in my career, I have been lucky in that way.
“So I will just approach the game the best way that I can. We will prepare everything in the best way, because at the end the aim is to win. Just focus on the game, focus on us and prepare for the opponent. That’s it. I don’t think we need to approach anything differently.”
Meanwhile, Arsenal defender Piero Hincapie says their Champions League win over his former club Bayer Leverkusen - including Eberechi Eze’s wonder strike - will really put them in the mood for the rest of the campaign.
Hincapie said: “I'm really excited to have qualified for the quarter-finals with my club. I'm also a bit sad because we played the phase with my former club. But this is football and I'm really happy now.
“We're really focused on the final on Sunday, which is a very important final. We're going to train very hard to get to the final in the best way possible and to win the title. That’s the most important thing. We're very focused on wanting to win it, but we have to work hard to win the title.
“It was a good goal. Fantastic. It was amazing. I didn’t know it was his first goal. It was an amazing goal.”
English (US) ·