The ruthless decision Mikel Arteta must make for Arsenal to beat Manc City | Football

Manchester City may already have relinquished their stranglehold on English football’s major prizes, but Sunday’s Carabao Cup final still represents Arsenal’s first opportunity to begin an official changing of the guard process.

The destination of the Premier League title won’t be settled by anything that transpires at Wembley, regardless of any potential psychological markers that may be laid down, but there is arguably a bigger game at play anyway.

When Mikel Arteta began his Arsenal managerial journey with the aim of turning a directionless sleeping giant into the dominant force, he would have known knocking Manchester City off their perch would represent the final boss.

The Arsenal manager deserves immense credit for playing the lead role in manoeuvring a club that was nothing short of a laughing stock upon his arrival into a position whereby a period of potential dominance is there for the taking.

Stars have of course aligned elsewhere. The linchpins of City’s treble-winning team have either departed, or appear to be on their last legs, while the doubts over Pep Guardiola’s long-term commitment to the cause are of even greater concern.

Liverpool’s failure to build on last season’s title-winning campaign, despite their unprecedented spending, allied to Clearlake’s commitment to its deeply flawed Chelsea project means a once in a generation opportunity has presented itself to Arsenal.

Claiming the League Cup at City’s expense would signify a major step towards Arsenal asserting themselves as kingpins and underline their evolution from a club capable of competing to one that  collects trophies as a matter of course.

With more than just a relatively minor prize on offer, Arsenal’s master of marginal gains would be risking far too much to allow any form of sentiment to cloud the key decisions he will have to make ahead of locking horns with a familiar adversary.

Arteta’s starting XI is far from set in stone, but the majority of those who will have to console themselves with a place on the bench will know they are likely to have a part to play at some point.

Declan Rice and Thierry Henry praise David Raya

Declan Rice: He deserves every bit of credit he’s getting. I wish people could come in every day and see how he trains. Because the intensity he trains at and the level that he trains at there’s no reason why he’s not doing what he’s doing on the pitch it’s incredible to see him every day. The effort he makes with the lads, he’s turned into a real leader for us and when you’ve got a keeper like that it gives everyone confidence and yes, he’s incredible.’

Thierry Henry:  ‘This guy should be in contention to be player of the season because of what he does for Arsenal every single time. It’s very difficult sometimes to see what a goalkeeper does because he cannot always make you win the game. He can make you hope that you’re not losing it by making saves, but he does that two to three times every single game. It’s just outstanding.’

There will be a notable exception in that regard in the shape of whichever Spanish goalkeeper is overlooked. In reality there is an obvious choice that needs to be made, regardless of any assurances that were given to Kepa Arrizabalaga earlier in the season.

The former Chelsea goalkeeper has proven to be a capable deputy to David Raya when called upon so far, with his nine appearances, all but one of which coming in the domestic cup competitions, passing off without major incident.

This selection, however, should boil down more to Raya’s importance to the cause than any of the deficiencies in his compatriot’s make-up.

Put simply, Arteta boasts arguably the most in-form goalkeeper in world football at present, one who is making match defining saves at such a rate that Thierry Henry, who played alongside two Arsenal goalkeeping greats, was minded to state Raya’s case to be in the running for the club’s player of the year, after another astonishing display of dexterity against Bayer Leverkusen in midweek.

If David Seaman’s superpower was his unflappable nature and Jens Lehmann’s his ability to intimidate opponents, Raya’s main strength, other than his stupendous reflexes, lies in his unwavering commitment to his manager’s methods.

It was almost lost amid the maelstrom of Dowman-mania last weekend that the build-up to Arsenal’s opening goal against Everton came after Raya ignored the obvious temptation, as the clock ticked towards 90 minutes, to lump the ball up the pitch and instead opted to bait the Everton press and play a daring pass that provided his team with the platform from which they could construct the decisive moment.

Guardiola, himself, has a similar dilemma to ponder but he has been in this position many times before and has regularly gone with his cup keeper on showpiece Wembley occasions.

He may well do so again here with James Trafford chomping at the bit. But the lesson here for Arteta is to ignore the success City have enjoyed in the past with Claudio Bravo, Willy Caballero and Zack Steffen between the posts in this competition.

Instead, he should focus on the utterly ruthless way in which Trafford was dispensed with just three games into this Premier League season following his summer move from Burnley, once a Gianluigi Donnarumma-sized opportunity presented itself.

Asking Kepa to stand down will represent a far from easy conversation, especially given the heartache the 31-year-old has suffered in this competition down the years with Chelsea and seeing a second shot at Carabao redemption being taken away from him will no doubt be difficult to take.

The potential downside of overlooking Raya, however, far outweighs any likely benefits of sticking with his No.2 and, in a week where Arteta was so keen to stress the importance of the non-negotiables he has put in place since day one with reference to Eberechi Eze’s burst of form, Wembley is no place to renege on the principles that have brought Arsenal to this point.

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