Rodri sends Arsenal clear Premier League title warning after Man City cup final win

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Manchester City beat Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final and will now hope to chase down Mikel Arteta's side in the Premier League

Rodri believes Manchester City's Carabao Cup final win over Arsenal can have an impact on the Premier League title race after the Blues secured a 2-0 Wembley win.

Nico O'Reilly scored twice in the second half as City earned the first domestic trophy of the campaign. The Blues will hope to follow it up with two more given they are still in the FA Cup and are Arsenal's only rivals for the Premier League title.

The Gunners have a healthy nine-point advantage at the top of the table but still have to travel to the Etihad while the Blues have a game in hand. And Rodri feels the cup final victory can now play a part in the run-in.

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"It's a game not only for this title but to show that we can beat them," said Rodri, speaking to the Spanish media at Wembley. "There is still a lot to do and it's clear we didn't want to go out of the Champions League.

"But we went out and now we have to take the positives, we have more time to prepare for the games. So that's something to take into account - but we also have to celebrate this."

City were second best in the first half but dominated after the break to run out ultimately comfortable winners.

Asked about the half-time message, Rodri said: "I think it was a calming talk - we were doing things well and we didn't have any problems - we were doing well in terms of pressure - it was more a matter of personality wanting to go for the game, not letting them take control.

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"I felt like they dropped a bit physically, we detected it and we wanted to go for them. You can tell when you have players who are good in the area and Nico O'Reilly has again shown his potential."

"We knew it was a very important game," he added. "Not only because of the title but also because we had to face the best team in the league.

"Now we need to rest go back to the next round of internationals and come back with the optimism that we still have two more competitions to fight for."