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Arsenal’s long wait for a major trophy rolls on, and this latest setback will sting because it feels so avoidable.

There are defeats that happen because the opposition are simply too good. Then there are defeats that drag the spotlight directly on to the manager’s choices. This one falls firmly into the second category. Mikel Arteta has built much of his reputation on precision, control and ruthlessness, but his decision to stick with Kepa Arrizabalaga for the Carabao Cup final instead of restoring David Raya may become one of the defining errors of Arsenal’s season.

At Wembley, there was nowhere to hide once that call backfired.

Manchester City punished Arsenal clinically, with Nico O’Reilly scoring twice in quick succession to secure the trophy, but the key talking point was always likely to be in goal. When Kepa allowed Rayan Cherki’s cross to slip through his hands for City’s opener, the entire logic behind Arteta’s team selection came crashing down in one damaging moment. Four minutes later, O’Reilly struck again, and Arsenal were left chasing a game they never truly looked like recovering.

For a manager who is usually so cold-eyed in big moments, Arteta’s loyalty to his cup goalkeeper carried a surprisingly sentimental edge. And in a final of this magnitude, sentiment can be expensive.

Why Kepa Started Ahead Of David Raya

Arteta’s explanation was simple. Kepa had played throughout the competition, and the Arsenal manager believed it would have been unfair to leave him out for the biggest game.

That reasoning is understandable on a human level. Squad harmony matters. Managers want players to believe that contributions in earlier rounds will be rewarded. Cup runs are often built by those on the fringes, and stripping a player of the final can create tension behind the scenes.

But this was not a fourth-round tie in November. This was a chance to win silverware, ease pressure, and provide tangible proof that Arsenal’s project is still moving forward. In those moments, fairness has to come second to winning.

Arteta insisted afterwards that he had made the honest decision. “I have to do what I feel is right, which is honest and which is fair,” he said. “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.”

The problem is that football does not judge decisions on sentiment. It judges them on outcomes.

And once Kepa made the mistake that gifted City control of the final, that argument collapsed under the weight of reality. Arsenal did not need fairness at Wembley. They needed their best goalkeeper.

The Brutal Contrast Between Kepa And Trafford

What made Arteta’s call look even worse was what happened at the other end.

James Trafford, City’s cup goalkeeper, delivered exactly the kind of performance Arsenal needed from their own understudy. Early in the match, with the score still level, he produced an outstanding triple save to deny Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka twice. It was the sort of intervention that changes a final. Instead of Arsenal seizing control, City stayed alive, settled, and went on to win comfortably.

So while Kepa endured the worst kind of Wembley afternoon for a goalkeeper, Trafford showed the value of stepping up when the pressure is greatest.

That contrast was impossible to ignore.

City’s situation is interesting in itself. Trafford returned to the club in the summer expecting to compete for the number one shirt, only for the arrival of Gianluigi Donnarumma to push him into a secondary role. He has had to wait for domestic cups and limited opportunities, yet he looked ready when the moment arrived.

After the final, Trafford admitted the season had not been easy, but you would never have guessed it from his composure. “This moment means a lot to me,” he said. “Every time that I play I just give it my best shot.”

That is exactly what Arsenal hoped to get from Kepa. Instead, they got the opposite.

A Defining Error In A Defining Moment

Goalkeeping mistakes always feel harsher because they are so public and so final. A striker can miss a sitter and still score later. A defender can recover with a last-ditch tackle. A goalkeeper’s mistake tends to live on its own, replayed again and again, especially in a final.

For Kepa, that is now the story.

This competition has already brought him difficult memories. He has now lost all three EFL Cup finals he has played in, and each one has come with a moment that lingers. That history only makes this latest setback feel heavier.

Yet the real focus should not only be on the goalkeeper. It should remain on the manager who put him there.

Arteta could see the broader context. Arsenal have not won a major trophy since 2020. The pressure around this team is different now. Near misses in the league and Europe have raised expectations. Finals are not just occasions, they are opportunities to prove that progress is real. In that environment, selection decisions carry even more weight.

Choosing Raya would have been the ruthless move. He has been Arsenal’s first-choice goalkeeper for a reason. His consistency in the Premier League, where he leads the division for clean sheets, has helped keep Arsenal in the fight at the top. He is trusted, sharp and battle-tested. On paper and in practice, he gives Arsenal a better chance of winning a one-off final.

Arteta chose continuity over quality in that position. Wembley exposed the cost.

What This Means For Arteta And Arsenal

One defeat does not define a manager, and one selection error does not erase the progress Arteta has made. Arsenal remain a strong side, a well-coached side, and a team capable of competing for major honours.

But big clubs are measured by what they win, not just by how well they function.

That is why this final matters. It was not merely a lost cup tie. It was another reminder that the final step, the one from contenders to winners, is often decided by tiny margins and uncompromising choices. Pep Guardiola understood that. He trusted Trafford, and City were rewarded. Arteta trusted Kepa, and Arsenal paid the price.

There is also the psychological cost to consider. Arsenal’s players will know how fine the margins were. They will know the opening stages offered chances to take control. They will also know that the first major swing of the match came from their own goalkeeper making an error that may have been avoided if the manager had chosen differently.

That kind of defeat lingers.

The scrutiny will not disappear quickly either. Whenever Arteta speaks about standards, control, or winning mentality, this final will sit in the background as a counterpoint. His critics will say that when the season’s first real trophy chance arrived, he blinked. He let loyalty override logic.

That may be harsh, but football at the top is harsh.

For Kepa, there will be sympathy, but limited sympathy. Goalkeepers live with this reality. One mistake can define the day. For Arteta, though, the pain may be deeper because this was entirely avoidable. He made a call that he believed was fair. It was not the one that gave Arsenal the best chance to win.

And that is why this Carabao Cup final defeat may haunt him for a long time yet.