Guardiola and Reijnders: ‘Bring on Arsenal’ After Carabao Cup Semi-Final Win

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and midfielder Tijjani Reijnders have set their sights firmly on Arsenal after City swept past Newcastle United to reach the Carabao Cup final.

City sealed a 5-1 aggregate victory with a 3-1 win at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, thanks to a first-half brace from Omar Marmoush and a goal from Reijnders.

Anthony Elanga pulled one back for Newcastle, but the holders were outclassed as Guardiola’s side booked a Wembley showdown with Arsenal on March 22.

Guardiola hailed his players’ performance and praised both Marmoush and goalkeeper James Trafford, while acknowledging the scale of the challenge ahead.

‘With Newcastle you can never control them completely. They had a one against one with James [Trafford], James was unbelievable especially in the first half. It was an incredibly intense game in all departments but the guys were really good,’ Guardiola told Sky Sports.

“In March we go to Wembley again. We will travel to London again, they [Arsenal] will wait for us there. Five ties in 10 years is a big milestone. It’s a pleasure to play against Arsenal, the best team right now in Europe and maybe the world.’

Reijnders, who scored City’s third, admitted the final will be a special occasion.

‘We were very eager to go to the final and we showed that from the first minute. Amazing team performance,’ he said. ‘I play football because I want to win trophies. Now I am going to Wembley for the first time – that will be amazing. We will do everything to win the Carabao Cup.’

Looking ahead to the clash with Arsenal, Reijnders added: ‘Yes, of course. It will be a tough match, but we will be very hungry and we want to win this title. They play amazing and they are a really balanced team. We have to analyse and see where we can gain our strength.’