Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal managed to overcome a minor FA Cup fright on Saturday afternoon as Eberechi Eze sealed a 2-1 win for Mikel Arteta’s men against Mansfield Town – and there was also plenty of chaos in the match between Manchester City and Newcastle United.
At the One Call Stadium, Mansfield put up one hell of a fight against the Premier League leaders – but ultimately, there were unable to pull off the unthinkable.
Pep Guardiola’s City, however, were at the races from start to finish and managed a 3-1 victory over Eddie Howe’s Magpies. The Newcastle boss even sent Arsenal a blunt warning about City’s form in his post-match press conference.
Guardiola did however pick up a two-match touchline ban after picking up his sixth booking of the season – and this news has left the Emirates Stadium faithful on tenterhooks given they are to face them in the Carabao Cup later this month (March 22).
Are Arsenal affected by Guardiola’s two-match ban?
Against Newcastle at St James’ Park, Guardiola was yellow-carded for confronting fourth official Lewis Smith on the touchline after Kieran Trippier had committed a cynical foul on Jeremy Doku.
If you are unaware: managers are handed a one-match ban from the touchline and for every three yellow cards they are issued, though new rules (introduced this season) mean a sixth yellow card results in two matches in the stands.
But will this, in any way, affect Arsenal and their Carabao Cup final?
That game at Wembley could make things really interesting regarding the Premier League title race, with the two English rivals looking to gain the psychological upper hand.
| Matches | 15 |
| Wins | 4 |
| Draws | 3 |
| Losses | 8 |
| Goals | 19 – 28 |
| Points per match | 1.00 |
In terms of whether he’ll be in the stands for their Carabao Cup final, the answer is yes.
The Catalan boss, who formerly had Arteta under his wing, will instead be absent for City’s games against West Ham in the Premier League this coming Saturday and the FA Cup quarter-final in the first weekend of April.
That means he is free to be in the dugout for City’s clash with Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final on March 22, even though it is played after the West Ham game and before the FA Cup clash.
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Per Sky Sports, according to the FA guidelines, ‘play-off matches [semi-finals and finals] in the EFL and National League System, as well as finals of the Emirates FA Cup, EFL Cup, EFL Trophy are exempt from any automatic touchline ban for the accumulation of cautions by technical area occupants’.
In layman’s terms, Guardiola’s ban only applies to Premier League and FA Cup games – but not Champions League fixtures. The City chief will be on the side of the pitch for both legs of his side’s eye-watering clash with Real Madrid.
There is a silver lining for Arsenal
“I will tell you something – we have all the records in this country, all of them, despite everything. We have the record of the manager with the most yellow cards,” Guardiola said of his booking against Newcastle on Saturday.
“I want all records and now I have it. Two-game ban now and I will go on holidays the next two games. There are things after 10 years I cannot understand. Review the action. Of course I’m going to defend Doku and all my teams.”
Watch Guardiola’s post-match discussion about his ban (4:21 onwards):
Although Guardiola will be able to instruct his players when they travel to London in pursuit of Carabao Cup glory, the Gunners could take some solace in the fact that a ban is better than nothing. That’s if we’re clutching at straws, of course.
West Ham’s position in the table is rather deceiving and they have begun – if you ignore their 5-2 loss to Liverpool – to pick up some really valuable points in the last month or so, which includes a 1-1 draw with Manchester United at home.
It won’t be an easy fixture for the Citizens and that nervousness could be boosted tenfold on the back of learning that Guardiola will not be in the dugout.
