EFP Cup Final: Arsenal Vs Manchester City 0 - 3 - (LIVE)
Arsenal braced against the odd to go through against Chelsea 2-1 to Wembley to face Manchester City in the EFL final.
Arsene Wenger has the opportunity to win his first ever Carabao Cup in England when Arsenal face Manchester City at Wembley on Sunday.
Wenger's trophy haul includes two Premier Leagues and seven FA Cups, yet it is the League Cup which has proved difficult to crack over the years, with final defeats to Chelsea in 2008 and Birmingham three years later.
The Gunners are currently in sixth position, with their top-four hopes looking slim as it stands and a trophy success before the end of the season could prove just the tonic to kick-start Arsenal's campaign.
Arsenal had to overcome Chelsea in a tight semi-final clash while City narrowly beat Bristol City over an entertaining two-legged affair.
Aaron Ramsey is expected to be available for selection on Sunday and Wenger will assess how the Wales midfielder performs in training over the coming days.
Alexandre Lacazette is sidelined with a knee injury, although his return has been shortened to "four weeks from now, maybe three and a half weeks" according to Wenger.
"We’ll see how Ramsey's evolution goes now from today until Sunday," Wenger told Arsenal.com
"I don’t rule him out yet, it depends on how well he can improve with the intensity of training until Sunday.
"Ideally, you want to have the choice but our job is about adaptation and very rarely in your life are you in an ideal situation where you have the luxury of choosing from all the players in your squad. We will adapt. Ideally, I would like him to be available but we’ll see."
Spanish midfielder Santi Cazorla remains a long-term absentee with an Achilles injury.
He had a good session yesterday, that he absorbed well. So we have to see how he responds to it today. But I think he will be alright. You want all your best players available and of course, he is an important player for us.”
Ramsey returned to training on Wednesday, and with three days of work under his belt, Wenger will make a late decision on including the Wales midfielder for the game. “I have to make a decision on Aaron Ramsey on Saturday,” Wenger said. “He looks OK, but we will know more about it tomorrow.”
Arsenal will have to assess Alex Iwobi today after the Nigerian midfielder appearaed to cramp up at the end of Thursday night’s Europa League match. Other senior first-teamers, like Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, Shkodran Mustafi, Nacho Monreal and Laurent Koscielny are likely to come into the side.
“I left a few players out last night,” Wenger said, “so the team will be different.”
Pep Guardiola's decision to cut his losses with Claudio Bravo and sign Ederson from Benfica was an excellent decision, with the 24-year-old enjoying a fine debut season in England. The Brazilian may not have the experience of Petr Cech, but he is the goalkeeper in form and takes the first spot in our combined XI.
With John Stones horribly out of form and Vincent Kompany recently returning from injury, it has been up to Otamendi to control the heart of the City defence this season and the Argentinian has done a fine job. Few players have been more involved for their teams in terms of touches of the ball and passes completed in the Premier League, while his decision making has also proven to be a lot better than last season.
With no Vincent Kompany in our XI, Koscielny fills the role of organiser in our back-three, despite the Frenchman not being the commanding central defender he once was. Of Arsenal's outfield players, only Granit Xhaka and Hector Bellerin have played more Premier League minutes than Koscielny this season.
Arsene Wenger has the opportunity to win his first ever Carabao Cup in England when Arsenal face Manchester City at Wembley on Sunday.
Wenger's trophy haul includes two Premier Leagues and seven FA Cups, yet it is the League Cup which has proved difficult to crack over the years, with final defeats to Chelsea in 2008 and Birmingham three years later.
The Gunners are currently in sixth position, with their top-four hopes looking slim as it stands and a trophy success before the end of the season could prove just the tonic to kick-start Arsenal's campaign.
Arsenal had to overcome Chelsea in a tight semi-final clash while City narrowly beat Bristol City over an entertaining two-legged affair.
Aaron Ramsey is expected to be available for selection on Sunday and Wenger will assess how the Wales midfielder performs in training over the coming days.
Alexandre Lacazette is sidelined with a knee injury, although his return has been shortened to "four weeks from now, maybe three and a half weeks" according to Wenger.
"We’ll see how Ramsey's evolution goes now from today until Sunday," Wenger told Arsenal.com
"I don’t rule him out yet, it depends on how well he can improve with the intensity of training until Sunday.
"Ideally, you want to have the choice but our job is about adaptation and very rarely in your life are you in an ideal situation where you have the luxury of choosing from all the players in your squad. We will adapt. Ideally, I would like him to be available but we’ll see."
Spanish midfielder Santi Cazorla remains a long-term absentee with an Achilles injury.
He had a good session yesterday, that he absorbed well. So we have to see how he responds to it today. But I think he will be alright. You want all your best players available and of course, he is an important player for us.”
Ramsey returned to training on Wednesday, and with three days of work under his belt, Wenger will make a late decision on including the Wales midfielder for the game. “I have to make a decision on Aaron Ramsey on Saturday,” Wenger said. “He looks OK, but we will know more about it tomorrow.”
Arsenal will have to assess Alex Iwobi today after the Nigerian midfielder appearaed to cramp up at the end of Thursday night’s Europa League match. Other senior first-teamers, like Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, Shkodran Mustafi, Nacho Monreal and Laurent Koscielny are likely to come into the side.
“I left a few players out last night,” Wenger said, “so the team will be different.”
Pep Guardiola's decision to cut his losses with Claudio Bravo and sign Ederson from Benfica was an excellent decision, with the 24-year-old enjoying a fine debut season in England. The Brazilian may not have the experience of Petr Cech, but he is the goalkeeper in form and takes the first spot in our combined XI.
With John Stones horribly out of form and Vincent Kompany recently returning from injury, it has been up to Otamendi to control the heart of the City defence this season and the Argentinian has done a fine job. Few players have been more involved for their teams in terms of touches of the ball and passes completed in the Premier League, while his decision making has also proven to be a lot better than last season.
With no Vincent Kompany in our XI, Koscielny fills the role of organiser in our back-three, despite the Frenchman not being the commanding central defender he once was. Of Arsenal's outfield players, only Granit Xhaka and Hector Bellerin have played more Premier League minutes than Koscielny this season.
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