Pep Guardiola faces Arsene Wenger again in the Carabao Cup final: we look at the history between the two
Tom Carnduff looks at the history between Pep Guardiola and Arsene Wenger ahead of Sunday's Carabao Cup final.
Arsene Wenger faces Pep Guardiola once again on Sunday as Arsenal meet Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final.
It's the 13th time that the pair have come up against one another over an eight-year period.
City’s dreams of a quadruple were ended by League One's Wigan in the FA Cup and they face a tough battle if they are to secure their first trophy of the season when they kick-off at Wembley.
They're favourites for the Champions League and as short as 1/250 to secure the Premier League title this season, but the Gunners have won nine games in a row in cup competitions at the national stadium, beating City twice in that sequence.
Tom Carnduff looks at the history between Guardiola and Wenger and examines the past games between the two managers.
Arsenal 2-2 Barcelona (Champions League quarter-final, March 2010)
The first meeting between the pair was a four-goal thriller that saw Arsenal come from behind to secure a draw at the Emirates. Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice in 12 second-half minutes as Arsenal looked set for European humiliation, mainly prevented by a number of saves from goalkeeper Manuel Almunia. Theo Walcott struck to give Arsenal hope and Cesc Fabregas scored a late penalty as Pep Guardiola was frustrated, Barcelona failing to secure victory.
Barcelona 4-1 Arsenal (Champions League quarter-final, April 2010)
In the reverse fixture, Barcelona got the result that their performances across the two legs deserved. Nicklas Bendtner stunned the Camp Nou when he fired the visitors into the lead, but Lionel Messi’s sensational four-goal haul dumped Wenger’s injury-hit Arsenal out at the last-eight stage. The North London side were beaten 6-3 on aggregate while Barcelona were ultimately knocked out by eventual winners Inter.
Sky Bet: Back Barcelona at 5/1 to win the Champions League
Arsenal 2-1 Barcelona (Champions League last-16, February 2011)
The two sides were paired against each other once again in the following season’s Champions League, this time at the last-16 stage. The game was one of the most memorable ties for Arsenal fans at the Emirates Stadium as the Gunners provided a superb comeback to secure victory. David Villa had given Guardiola’s men the lead in the first-half, but late efforts from Robin van Persie and substitute Andrey Arshavin granted Arsenal a first-leg advantage.
Barcelona 3-1 Arsenal (Champions League last-16, March 2011)
Unfortunately for Arsenal, they couldn’t repeat their performance from the first leg and were knocked out by the Spanish outfit for the second consecutive season. Sergio Busquets’ second-half own goal cancelled out Messi’s opener in first-half stoppage time. The hosts capitalised on Fabregas’ controversial sending off as Xavi strike combined with Messi’s second of the night gave Guardiola another victory over Wenger. Barca would go onto win the Champions League that season, beating Manchester United 3-1 in the final.
Arsenal 0-2 Bayern Munich (Champions League last-16, February 2014)
Guardiola met Wenger again in the last-16 stage in 2014, this time with German giants Bayern Munich. It was a disastrous night for Arsenal as Mesut Ozil saw a soft penalty saved by Manuel Neuer and opposite number Wojciech Szczesny was sent off before half-time after fouling Arjen Robben in the area. Second-half goals from Toni Kroos and Thomas Muller put Bayern firmly in the driving seat going into the second leg.
Bayern Munich 1-1 Arsenal (Champions League last-16, March 2014)
Arsenal gave a better account of themselves at the Allianz Arena, but it wasn’t enough as they were dumped out by Bayern for the second successive season. Lukas Podolski had cancelled out Bastian Schweinsteiger’s opener minutes after it went in, but Wenger’s men had given themselves too much to do from the first leg. Munich would go onto be knocked out by eventually winners Real Madrid at the semi-final stage, with the Spanish outfit emphatically beating them 5-0.
Sky Bet: Bayern Munich 9/2 to win the Champions League
Arsenal 2-0 Bayern Munich (Champions League group stage, October 2015)
The pair were drawn together in the group stage this time round and Wenger’s Arsenal finally got the better of the German side at the Emirates. The Gunners' hopes of reaching the knockout phase were in serious jeopardy going into the tie after they lost their opening two games away to Dinamo Zagreb and at home to Olympiakos. They managed to get back on track as Olivier Giroud and Ozil both struck in the second-half to gain a crucial three points. At the other end, Petr Cech took the plaudits as he produced a number of saves to keep Bayern out.
Bayern Munich 5-1 Arsenal (Champions League group stage, November 2015)
Success in the first meeting wasn’t matched in the return tie, as Guardiola demolished Arsenal in Bavaria. Goals from Robert Lewandowski, David Alaba and Muller put the hosts 3-0 at half-time before Robben and a second strike from Polish forward Lewandowski secured a convincing 5-1 victory. The result put Arsenal’s qualification hopes in serious doubt at the time, although they would eventually progress before being dumped out by Barcelona at the first knockout hurdle. Bayern went out at the semi-final stage to Atletico Madrid on away goals.
Manchester City 2-1 Arsenal (Premier League, December 2016)
Guardiola’s first spell in England saw him come up against Wenger once again, and their first domestic meeting looked to be going the way of the visitors after Walcott struck just five minutes in. Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling turned the game with second-half goals to move Manchester City into second in the Premier League at the time. The turnaround actually saw City win a Premier League game that they were trailing in at half-time for the first time since November 2012, that one coming against Tottenham.
Sky Bet: Back Man City to win Sunday's Carabao Cup final 2-1 in 90 minutes at 7/1
Arsenal 2-2 Manchester City (Premier League, April 2017)
The reverse fixture would again see a goal just five minutes in, but this time it was in City’s favour as Sane scored early to fire them into the lead. Walcott’s 40th-minute equaliser was cancelled out by Sergio Aguero minutes later and Shkodran Mustafi went on to head home from a corner as Arsenal fought back from behind twice to earn a point. The point was a crucial one for Guardiola as they moved five points clear of Manchester United in fifth, whilst Arsenal continued to battle for a Europa League spot.
Arsenal 2-1 Manchester City (FA Cup, April 2017)
Wenger would get his revenge just three weeks later. Aguero had put City ahead on the hour mark before Nacho Monreal cancelled it out ten minutes later. Alexis Sanchez's scrambled extra-time winner secured Arsenal an FA Cup final date with Chelsea, which Arsenal would win after Sanchez and Aaron Ramsey scored in another 2-1 victory.
The result gave Wenger his first victory over Guardiola in over two years, but City would argue that they were controversially disallowed a goal that would have put them ahead. In the first-half, linesman Steve Child judged that Sane's cross had gone behind before Sterling scored at the back post, replays suggesting that wasn't the case.
Sky Bet: Back Arsenal to win the Carabao Cup in extra time at 20/1 with Sky Bet
Manchester City 3-1 Arsenal (Premier League, November 2017)
Their first meeting of the current season saw Guardiola’s City open up an eight-point gap over second-placed United with a 3-1 victory over Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium. Kevin De Bruyne, Gabriel Jesus and Aguero were all on target as City extended their unbeaten run to seven. Following the game, Guardiola said "we cannot deny the last two months have been amazing. We knew how important this game was and we prepared well. The players gave an amazing performance."
Overall, Guardiola has secured victory on six occasions to Wenger's three, but despite their extraordinary season so far, City can expect a tough afternoon at Wembley.
While Guardiola side are correctly odds-on to win the game in 90 minutes and just 4/11 to lift the trophy, Arsenal’s remarkable run in cup competitions at the national stadium sets it up to be an entertaining clash and one that the underdogs are more than capable of winning.
There are questions of how Guardiola’s side will react after a shock defeat to Wigan on Monday, a game in which they quite publicly showed frustration for a variety of reasons.
Who needs it more? City were fancied for the quadruple but now face the possibility of two trophies disappearing in the space of seven days, while Wenger is under constant pressure to deliver something from a season which, domestically, has been a disappointment.
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