Arsenal's trophyless scenario spelled out as Gunners warned loss could 'break their spirit'

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Arsenal have been told they could end the season without any silverware yet again and they must avoid losing to Manchester City should they meet in the Carabao Cup final.

The Gunners put themselves in pole position to make the final after beating Chelsea 3-2 in the first leg of their semi-final at Stamford Bridge. The previous night, City had beaten Newcastle at St James' Park, making a final between Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta all the more likely.

The two men are also vying for the Premier League title, where Arsenal currently hold a six-point lead. The north Londoners do need to prove they can get across the line having not won any trophy since the FA Cup way back in 2020.

Troy Deeney claims that a loss to City in the final of the Carabao Cup could "break their spirit" - which would then have a knock on affect in the title race.

He said on CBS : "I could make an argument they don't win any. What could happen is Man City win the Carabao Cup and that breaks the spirit. You just heard William Saliba talking about how his pockets were empty so they're clearly trying to win something.

"Could they go out in the FA Cup? Of course they can, because they're concentrating on the Champions League . If you start to lose games, you lose Declan Rice to injury, they could lose the title."

Arsenal have finished second in each of the past three years. In 2023 and 2024, it was City who chased them down, pipping them to the title in the final weeks of the campaign. Despite their huge strides forward, there remains huge pressure on Arteta and his team to get over the final hurdle, especially given the mammoth investment that has been made in the squad.

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Arsenal do sit top in the Champions League, seeing off the likes of Bayern Munich as they remain undefeated, and made the semi-finals last season. They comfortably advanced into the fourth round of the FA Cup at the weekend and Arteta was pleased that the win over the Blues kept their momentum going.

"Really good, because it's a really tough place to come," he said. "They are top side and when you watch them live as well, the quality that they have, how they open you up in a second with the quality that they have, it's impressive. So that's why I really value what the team has done again."

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