What Declan Rice and Gabriel did differently to Arsenal squad as Man City lifted Carabao Cup

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Manchester City beat Arsenal 2-0 in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday

As Manchester City made the long walk up the stairs to collect the Carabao Cup trophy at Wembley, Mikel Arteta gathered his dejected Arsenal players back on the turf for a moment of reflection.

The Spaniard wants the Gunners to bottle this feeling — the unshakable disappointment and frustration — and he hopes his squad will use it as fuel and ammunition to fire themselves to glory on other fronts.

It was a poignant scene but what was particularly striking is four of Arsenal's key and core players, Declan Rice, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba and Riccardo Calafiori could not bear to watch City get their hands on the silverware the Premier League leaders had craved.

Just as Bernardo Silva was handed the invitation to lift the trophy aloft, the quartet glanced down towards the floor while the rest of their team-mates gazed upwards.

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The pain was written across their faces and rightly so. But ultimately, all hope is not lost and that has to be the primary motivation and fixation during the international break and beyond.

There is no denying victory at Wembley would have been seismic and silverware would have set the tone for more to follow later in the season.

However, Arsenal remain in the box-seat in the Premier League and are firmly in control of their own destiny.

This may raise awkward questions about their mentality and ability to get over the line when push comes to shove but if the squad is able to sing from the same hymn sheet when club football returns, the team's pathway is mapped out in front of them.

Win or avoid defeat at the Etihad and the title feels like a procession because City have shown on several occasions they have it in them to drop cheap points.

The prospect of City winning their final eight top-flight matches feels far-fetched. Five wins and two draws should do it for Arsenal but if they are able to grind out victory at the Etihad, they would be in touching distance of ending the club's 22-year wait for English football's top prize.

Now is not the time to doubt or consider the prospect of more dismay because Arsenal are now so close to getting the job done.

The likes of Gabriel, Rice and Saliba, who have given so much to the cause, are allowed to feel hurt and a sense of suffering but in just a matter of weeks, it could well be City standing in their shoes, feeling downbeat, sapped of energy and coming to terms with falling short.