Following Arsenal’s 2-0 loss to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final, former Gunners striker Ian Wright has named the unused substitute who could’ve helped Mikel Arteta’s men at Wembley.
It wasn’t to be for the quadruple-chasers as Nico O’Reilly’s quick fire double in the second half saw Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City run out victorious.
Kepa Arrizabalaga, who started in place of first-choice goalkeeper David Raya, slipped up for O’Reilly’s first by dropping the ball but Arsenal’s outfield players failed to pull the Spaniard out of a bad moment.
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The Premier League table-toppers still have three trophies to win this season, of course, as they look to end their six-year wait for major silverware. But Wright has outlined a mistake made by Arteta on Sunday.
Ian Wright claims unused substitute for the Carabao Cup final could’ve inspired victory
The biggest shock of the pre-match news was that Raya was going to be benched in favour of Kepa, Arsenal’s second-choice shot stopper.
Arteta stuck by his decision and Jens Lehmann has implored the midfielder-turned-tactician to keep Kepa inbetween the sticks – but what he decides to do will become evident on 4 April.
That’s when Arsenal are back in action – against Southampton in the FA Cup – but Wright and The Overlap crew are still talking about the stinging defeat on Sunday.
He even mentioned that Myles Lewis-Skelly remaining on the bench may have hurt Arsenal’s chances at success. “I’ve mentioned like, I’ve mentioned Myles Lewis-Skelly when he played against Real Madrid last time, had an unbelievable game,” he said.
“Then he’s kind of been dropped back out of it, and I’m thinking in that game, yesterday, on Sunday, a left-back who can invert what we need is somebody comfortable on the ball.
“That’s the game he should be playing in, because then he’s somebody who can get on the ball, and at least we can link.”
Piero Hincapie started the match at left-back and struggled against the pace and power of Antoine Semenyo – and the Ecuadorian was replaced by Riccardo Calafiori in the 65th minute.
Myles Lewis-Skelly’s England chances
Domestic football aside, could Lewis-Skelly be the answer to England’s struggles at left-back? Luke Shaw is far from reliable and Lewis Hall and O’Reilly both lack experience for major tournaments.
Thomas Tuchel has a tricky decision to make in terms of sorting his 2026 World Cup squad – and Lewis-Skelly wasn’t picked for the March international break. Wright, however, believes he is as good as O’Reilly:
“There’s no way, Myles Lewis-Skelly, the way he started his career, he hasn’t got the capability to go on and do, I’m not saying he’s gonna do exactly what O’Reilly’s done, but the confidence it gives him in playing is gonna be a lot probably more confident than he is right now.
“He can’t get into the team at the moment, whether it’s Hincapie or if it’s behind Calafiori, this guy is a footballer,” the former striker continued.
“We needed a footballer on Sunday, and those are the things that I’m sitting there watching us do, watching us do nothing.
“I’m thinking to myself, if the Arsenal fans saw someone like him come on and do a couple of things, everybody, it gets us going, it gets people going again. That’s a disappointment for me.”
