2026-03-23 12:35:30

Mikel Arteta has defended his decision to play Kepa Arrizabalaga in the Carabao Cup Final.

The Arsenal manager has come under fire for picking the Spain international, who has played every round of the cup competition before the final against Manchester City, rather than switching to first choice David Raya, who has 15 clean sheets in the Premier League.

His team lost 2-0 to City in the final, but Arteta said after the game: “I understand [the scrutiny], but I have to do what I feel is right, honest and fair.

“And I think we have an understanding keeper in Kepa – he’s played all the competition and I think it would have been very, very unfair for him and for the team to do something different.”

Kepa has now lost all three League Cup finals he’s played, having blasted a penalty over the bar when Chelsea lost to Liverpool in 2022.

Three years earlier, he refused to be subsisted at the game headed to penalties, while this year he made a mistake to give City the lead.

Arteta insisted that despite Kepa’s game time being limited this season, his cup run wasn’t a guarantee or promise.

He explained: “I can never promise a player to play certain competitions, because at the end they have to earn it and they have to do enough, like any other position.

“We are guided by what we’ve seen and what he’s done in the competition, and he helped us to go all the way through here.

“I believe it’s the right thing to do and that’s it. Errors are part of football and today it happened unfortunately in a crucial moment.”

Former England and Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart insisted Arteta “did not have to play” Kepa, adding that the manager clearly had faith in him.

He told BBC Sport: “That’s a decision made by a manager who’s potentially going to win quite a lot this season. So he’s played Kepa because he believes he’s ready.

“But I’ll always say it, don’t ever feel sorry for a goalkeeper. That’s the life that he’s chosen.

“And again, most of the game he was faultless. But in that big moment obviously he’ll have something to reflect on.”

Visit Bang Premier (main website)