Arsenal lost to Man City in the Carabao Cup final, missing out on their first chance to end their trophy drought, and were expelled from the FA Cup in the next match.
David Raya named Player of the Match (Image: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Arsenal’s goalkeeping dilemma has certainly been resolved.
Mikel Arteta will look back on the Carabao Cup final and FA Cup defeat at Southampton and wonder why he didn’t choose his first-choice keeper.
David Raya has a strong case for being one of the best keepers in the world (Arsenal fans might even argue that he is the best). Thibaut Courtois, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Alisson Becker might all have something to say about it.
Raya has kept 22 clean sheets across all competitions this season, the most by a keeper in Europe’s top five leagues.
Still, for Arsenal’s two biggest games of the season, Arteta selected No. 2 Kepa Arrizabalaga. It was all a huge honor and a reward for being a backup keeper.
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However, Kepa’s mistake gave Manchester City the lead and ultimately won the Carabao Cup at Wembley.
That changed the atmosphere at Arsenal and cost them the trophy. It was in no way Kepa’s fault that Arsenal lost at Southampton. There was a bigger culprit.
But could Raya have been better? yes. He is a game-changer if you look at Arsenal’s performance for Sporting Lisbon and the relief he gives defenders, along with the three top saves he made.
Raya’s distribution and unfortunately City targeted Kepa and gave him the ball because they knew he was likely to make a mistake or miss a pass.
Kepa’s blunder handed the initiative to Manchester City in the match against Wembley (Image: 2026 Getty Images)
It’s crazy not to play against your best players. On the morning of the Carabao Cup final, Arsenal legend Lee Dixon appeared on 5Live and recalled how different keepers play in the FA Cup rounds, but David Seaman was always back in goal in the final.
This was most evident in 2002. That year, Arsenal won the double. Richard Wright and Stuart Taylor played and, to be fair, Seaman was out for a while with an injury.
Wright played in the semi-final, but by that time Seaman was back playing in the Premier League. Seaman returned in the final and Arsenal won. They also won the final the following year, with Seaman scoring the goal.
All that is honorable is good. In later years, Arsene Wenger played against David Ospina in the Champions League and upset Petr Cech. That was outrageous.
Ross Stewart scored the goal that beat Kepa in Southampton’s FA Cup match against Arsenal.
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Wenger did the same in the FA Cup. In 2015, Wojciech Szczesny was removed from the show for smoking in the shower. Ospina became No.1. However, in the cup final, Szczesny returned as Arsenal defeated Aston Villa 4-0.
But there is a difference. There was no such gap. Szczesny was the better keeper. However, the difference was not as large as that between Raya and Kepa. There’s no chance.
This will surely serve as a lesson for the future. Compete against the best players. All other first-choice players played against City. So why not ditch the one thing that matters most and change the keeper?
These decisions could cost Arsenal one trophy and maybe another. Now, Arsenal have a much better chance of winning their remaining two games if Raya scores.
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