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Kepa Arrizabalaga hopes his past Carabao Cup final experiences can help Arsenal end their six-year trophy drought as Mikel Arteta ponders which of his Spanish goalkeepers to select ahead of Sunday’s Wembley showdown.
The 31-year-old joined the Gunners from Chelsea in the summer and has proved a more than capable deputy to the club’s No.1 and his compatriot David Raya.
All nine of Kepa’s appearances for his current club have come in the domestic cup competitions and the indications are that he will maintain his place in the starting XI against Manchester City.
The significance of the game allied to Raya’s outstanding form have left Arteta with a difficult decision to make but if he is, as expected, selected Kepa is confident he will not let his manager down.
‘The atmosphere at Wembley is so special, everything around the game is special – the build-up and everything,’ he said.
‘You know you are out there playing for a title, and right now in this moment of football, every title is so difficult to get.
‘You know you are one game away to be able to lift a trophy. Obviously, it’s going to be a tough game, a very difficult game, but we’ll go for it.
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‘I have played in the League Cup final before, but I have played many finals in my career, I have been lucky in that way.
‘So I will just approach the game the best way that I can. We will prepare everything in the best way, because at the end the aim is to win.
‘Just focus on the game, focus on us and prepare for the opponent. That’s it. I don’t think we need to approach anything differently.’
Kepa’s previous experiences of Wembley in this competition have been memorable but for all the wrong reasons.
Who should Mikel Arteta pick in goal vs Man City
Seven years ago last month he refused to leave the pitch ahead of a penalty shootout against City with his then manager, Maurizio Sarri, desperate to replace him with Willy Caballero.
Having ignored his coach, Kepa failed to save a single spot kick as City triumphed at Chelsea’s expense and it was a similar, if less controversial,in 2022 when, after 11 successful Liverpool penalties, Kepa blazed his attempt over the crossbar to hand victory to Jurgen Klopp’s men.
Another shot at League Cup redemption awaits this weekend, but Kepa knowns victory is anything but a forgone conclusion against a City side who will be licking their wounds after Tuesday night’s Champions League exit.
He said: ‘We have big players who have played in big games, in finals, in the Euros, in the World Cup, in the Champions League. We know what it is to play in big games every three days.
‘Manchester City have great players in every position, they are one of the strongest teams without a doubt.
‘They have a lot of different options and depth of quality. For us though, hopefully this could be a way for us to open our trophy cabinet, and to keep it open.’
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