Man City are in Arsenal's heads - now they know they can beat their title rivals

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Manchester City showed they remain capable of winning titles as they made Arsenal look very ordinary in the Carabao Cup Final, with Mikel Arteta's side second best throughout

Make no mistake about it. If they were not before, Manchester City will be in Arsenal’s heads.

Pep Guardiola’s men will be messing with Arsenal’s minds and that Carabao Cup win could end up being a defining moment of the season. All this talk about the cup final and who needed it most. What utter nonsense. It was always going to be more important to whoever won.

City now know they have the beating of Arsenal because they were so much better than Mikel Arteta’s men at Wembley.

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It was an even first half but City were completely dominant in the second half. They were better in every regard. They thoroughly deserved to win. City stepped up a gear, pushed forward and their high press was the defining factor in the game.

The other noticeable aspect of the game? City pressed high but actually let Arsenal keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga have the ball. Why? They knew he was an accident waiting to happen - and they got that right, too. What a howler on the first goal.

It is hard to understand why any manager would choose to play their No.2 keeper in a final. Go with your best players. And, yes, it’s obvious that City used their No.2 in James Trafford. The big difference? There’s less of a gap between Trafford and No.1 Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Having said all of that, David Raya will most likely be in goal for Arsenal’s crunch game at City on April 19. However, City now have a psychological edge on their title rivals. The damage has been done.

In two of the last three seasons, City have reeled Arsenal back in and overtaken them in the title race. If the nine point lead at the top seemed big before, it is probably less daunting now.

Arsenal and City could yet meet in the FA Cup. But in terms of the title race, the run-in is always about mental strength. We are into squeaky bum time.

Small differences actually go a long way. Arsenal were knocked for six when City came back to win at Liverpool in February. Arsenal looked like they had a hangover for the next few games.

Equally, Arsenal snatched victory late against Everton and that undoubtedly had an effect on City. If Arsenal had dropped points against Everton, I’m convinced City would have won at West Ham. Instead, City were flat and only managed a draw.

This is why the cup final matters. The other key takeaways were just how good Nico O’Reilly is. He will surely start the World Cup at left back for England.

And also Guardiola’s passion and enthusiasm. Or maybe he can now leave knowing he goes after winning a trophy. But surely the way he celebrated showed that he still has the desire and drive to carry on winning more silverware with City way beyond this season.