Former Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp has criticised Mikel Arteta’s decision to start Kepa Arrizabalaga in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final, calling it a “monumental error”.
A mistake from Kepa on the hour mark allowed Nico O’Reilly to sneak in and score the first goal in Manchester City’s 2-0 victory over Arsenal, with the Spaniard spilling a simple catch from a cross to allow O’Reilly to head into an empty net from a yard out.
While an obviously costly error, it also gave City the momentum as they began to dominate, with O’Reilly scoring his second just four minutes later to seal the result.
But while Kepa had consistently featured in the competition ahead of the final, Redknapp questioned why Arteta would start him instead of David Raya in a match of this magnitude.
“I know people will say it’s sentiment and he played in the earlier rounds, but Kepa is not as good as Raya. That’s why he is the number two,” explained Redknapp.
“So why, in a major cup final when you’re trying to get across the line and you’ve not won a trophy in so long, do you decide to play him? You have to take responsibility for that. That is a monumental error.
“He’s not a bad goalkeeper – he’s not as good as Raya. It has backfired big time. It’s not me being wise after the event, I said it before the game.”
Fellow pundit Ian Wright agreed, saying that Arteta’s “gamble didn’t pay off”.
“It was the fashion of the mistake [from Kepa] that makes you think ’that’s a number two’,” said Wright. “It’s something you wouldn’t see a number one goalkeeper make and it’s unfortunate because it’s the turning point.
“If we don’t concede that goal and we get the subs on, we might get into the game a bit.”
Arteta defended his decision to select Kepa, saying: “I can never promise a player to play certain competitions, they have to earn it and do enough.
“We are guided by what we see. What he’s done in the competition, and how he helped us to get us to the final, I believe it was the right thing to do. Errors are part of football, and unfortunately it happened in a crucial moment.”
The result means Arsenal are still without a trophy since winning the FA Cup in 2020, though they do lead the Premier League title race by nine points ahead of City, who have a game in hand.
The two clubs will face off again at the Etihad on 19 April, with Arsenal next in action against Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-final on 4 April, after the upcoming international break.
