Manchester City won the Carabao Cup at Wembley Stadium on Sunday and are already one point behind title rivals Arsenal, with Rodri issuing a strong warning to the Gunners.
Rodri believes City still have a chance to win the Premier League (Image: Getty Images)
Rodri has warned that Manchester City are ready to corner Arsenal in the title race. City midfielder Rodri claimed Josep Guardiola’s men were back in their sights with victory over Arsenal.
Arsenal remain the favorites to win the Premier League, with a nine-point lead at the top of the table. But while City won their first trophy of the season by defeating Mikel Arteta’s side in the Carabao Cup final, Rodri believes it could be a huge mental blow to the Gunners.
City have a game in hand against Arsenal, who also have to travel to the Etihad on April 19, while the Gunners are still in the Champions League and Guardiola’s side have already left Europe.
Asked if victory in the Wembley final could affect the title race, Spanish star Rodri said: “It affects us a lot. That’s why I said it’s not just a game for the title, it’s a game to show that we can beat them.”
“There’s still a lot of work to do and obviously we didn’t want to leave the Champions League. But we’re out and now we have to look positive and we have more time to prepare for the games. So it’s something to consider, but at the same time we have to celebrate this.”
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read more: Josep Guardiola says Man City’s title rating is bleak despite winning the Carabao Cupread more: Mikel Arteta talks about Arsenal’s future after losing in the Carabao Cup final
City ended Arsenal’s hopes of winning a historic treble, but Rodri now says it is City who are dreaming of winning his treble. City have won the Carabao Cup and although they are outside of Europe, they have an FA Cup quarter-final against Liverpool and are not giving up on the title.
Rodri added: “We knew this was a very important game, not only for the title, but also because we have to play against the best team in the league.
“Now I need to take a break and come back for the next international match and be optimistic that I can still play two more games.”
Rodri celebrates winning the Carabao Cup at Wembley (Image: Getty Images)
City have a history of winning, and Rodri revealed that Guardiola’s half-time team talk actually calmed the team’s nerves and was the secret to their success at Wembley.
They were goalless at half-time, but Guardiola got the better of Arteta in the second half and City lifted the trophy, leaving Arsenal empty-handed once again. Arsenal have not won a trophy since the FA Cup in 2020 and Rodri said it was clear at Wembley that Arsenal were running out of gas.
Rodri added: “I think it was a calming talk. We were doing well, we didn’t have any problems. We did well in terms of pressure. It was more a matter of our character wanting to play the game rather than letting them take the lead.”
“It felt like they were a bit down physically and we knew that and wanted to go after them. You know when you have good players in the area, but Nico O’Reilly showed his potential again.”
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