LONDON, March 22 (Reuters) - Manchester City reasserted themselves as trophy hunters supreme as they gave Arsenal a chastening reality check with a 2-0 victory in the League Cup final thanks to Nico O'Reilly's second-half double at Wembley on Sunday.
Premier League leaders Arsenal arrived on the crest of a wave and as favourites to win their first silverware since 2020 but were found wanting as City recovered from a rocky start to deservedly win the competition for the ninth time.
Five of those have come since Pep Guardiola arrived in 2016 and the Spaniard is now the most successful manager in the competition's history, moving past Jose Mourinho, Alex Ferguson and Brian Clough who all won it four times.
It might be one of the sweetest triumphs of Guardiola's vast collection too as his impressive side shrugged off their midweek elimination in the Champions League by Real Madrid to make a mockery of talk of power shifts and Arsenal quadruples.
"Unbelievable feeling. To win a final, to beat this team we know how good they are," the 21-year-old O'Reilly, the youngest player to score a brace in the League Cup final since Wayne Rooney for Manchester United in 2006, said.
"We need to build on it, it will give us good momentum."
Arsenal had not won the League Cup since 1993 but Sunday's game offered a gilt-edged chance to shed the 'nearly-men' tag that had weighed on their shoulders.
Mikel Arteta's side simply failed to show up though and will now have to dust themselves down after the international break as they try to clinch a first Premier League title since 2004 and continue their quest for the FA Cup and Champions League.
'PAIN AND DISAPPOINTMENT'
Arteta has now lost 10 of his 17 meetings with Guardiola, winning four, since leaving his post as Guardiola's assistant at City to take over at Arsenal.
"We need to have some perspective and what this team has done in the last eight months is incredible," Arteta told reporters. "Now we have to go through the pain and disappointment. We have a good history of reacting well."
As a final the showpiece did not live up to the pre-match billing with the first half a dreary stalemate in which Kai Havertz's early chance for Arsenal was as good as it got.
Arteta remained loyal to second-choice keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, ahead of David Raya, as he had played in all five of Arsenal's League Cup ties this season.
But that decision was called into question after the break as City went up a gear and seized control -- capitalising on a fumble by the former Chelsea keeper.
Arrizabalaga had already been booked for tugging back Jeremy Doku outside the box and soon after could only push a cross by Rayan Cherki over his own head and the ball bounced down for the alert O'Reilly to stoop and head into the empty net.
Four minutes later City effectively wrapped it up as they created an overlap down the right and Matheus Nunes clipped a perfect cross for the 21-year-old O'Reilly to head in.
FRUSTRATION EVIDENT
Arsenal's frustration was evident as Ben White was booked for clattering Cherki after the Frenchman indulged in some ball juggling near the touchline.
Mikel Arteta's side huffed and puffed and Gabriel hit the bar late on, but they showed little invention and looked jaded as their 14-match unbeaten run in all competitions ended.
By the time Bernardo Silva went up to lift the trophy, very few of the Arsenal supporters were still left, while at the other end City's joyous fans broke into their Blue Moon anthem.
City did not win a major domestic trophy last season, for the first time since Guardiola's first season in 2016-17, and are nine points behind Arsenal in the Premier League title race.
On Sunday, however, they showed they are still very much a force to be reckoned with.
(Reporting by Martyn HermanEditing by Toby Davis)
