Rayan Cherki has given Arsenal all the motivation Mikel Arteta needs ahead of Man City rematch

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Rayan Cherki's behaviour during League Cup final could come back to bite him when Arsenal get their rematch with Manchester City

The Carabao Cup final is likely a match that most Arsenal fans will want to forget rather quickly. Beaten and beaten well by Pep Guardiola’s perfect tactics, which both outsmarted and marginalised the Gunners’ own strategies.

The Man City four-man “press,” and I say that word reluctantly because it was anything but an aggressive press, with Erling Haaland, Antoine Semenyo, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki, in extremely disciplined fashion, created a blanket to prevent Arsenal from playing out. It stifled any attempts by the Gunners to escape, and eventually the pressure applied broke the back line with two goals from crosses finding Nico O’Reilly.

Yet while, as mentioned, it might be some dare not look back, Mikel Arteta certainly will be. The biggest reason being that his side must go to the Etihad Stadium in a few weeks with the Premier League title there for the taking.

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A win in Manchester will all but wrap up the title in the Gunners’ favour. But confidence will be at an all-time low, having been so convincingly defeated.

It will be a different affair, of course, considering the league context and knowledge that a draw would be beneficial only for Arsenal. The emphasis is not on City to step off Arsenal but instead to attack them.

But beyond the tactical and strategic side, Arsenal have been given plenty of motivation after what the aforementioned Cherki pulled off in the final. As the ball was fed to the Frenchman on the left wing, he took the moment to attempt a few keepie-uppies before passing the ball away.

The next time he received it, what happened next was inevitable. Ben White came steaming in and cleared him out, earning a booking in the process. Later, videos emerged of Cherki smiling at the fans as he seemingly feigned injury following White's challenge.

Guardiola was caught on camera shaking his head in disapproval. Arteta’s reaction was not seen, but as has been shown in the past, the Spaniard has a long memory and likes to use the on and off-field antics of opponents as motivation for his team.

Famously in the Amazon All or Nothing documentary, a tweet from Ivan Toney was used by Arteta before facing Brentford. It could be that Cherki’s actions here give the Gunners even more motivation when they face off against City at the Etihad Stadium next month.