Arteta defends Kepa selection after blunder sinks Arsenal in EFL Cup final

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/arrizabalaga-kepa/Yq2dyUwN/"]Kepa[/a] was guilty of a horrendous blunder in the second half at Wembley when he let [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cherki-mathis/vm0eu2V3/"]Rayan Cherki[/a]'s cross slip through his fingers, gifting [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/o-reilly-nico/xOrYaNWc/"]Nico O'Reilly[/a] the chance to head in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-city/Wtn9Stg0/"]City[/a]'s opener.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/arsenal/hA1Zm19f/"]Arsenal[/a] never recovered, and O'Reilly struck again four minutes later to leave the Gunners still waiting for their first major trophy since 2020.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/arteta-mikel/lAbHYaQM/"]Arteta[/a] had opted to keep faith with Kepa instead of picking first-choice stopper [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/raya-david/nkVV0IXb/"]David Raya[/a] because the former [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/chelsea/4fGZN2oK/"]Chelsea[/a] star has been a regular in the League Cup this season.[/p][p]The gamble backfired as Kepa endured another League Cup final moment to forget after his 2019 refusal to be substituted by Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri before a penalty shoot-out defeat against Manchester City, in which he failed to save a kick.[/p][p]Kepa also missed a penalty in a shoot-out loss to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/liverpool/lId4TMwf/"]Liverpool[/a] three years later.[/p][embed guid="c81c1a8a-6452-4c1e-bfdd-e02badc1f3c2" url="https://x.com/SkyFootball/status/2035776487131857228?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Asked about the criticism of his decision, Arteta said: [b]"I understand, but I have to do what is right and fair.[/b][/p][p][b]"Kepa had played all the competition, I think it would have been unfair to him and the team to do something different.[/b][/p][p][b]"He had gone all the way through this competition. Errors are part of football, and unfortunately, it happened today at a crucial moment."[/b][/p][p]Sitting nine points clear at the top of the Premier League, Arsenal were favoured to beat City, but they failed to rise to the occasion.[/p][p]Far too conservative for long periods at Wembley, Arsenal remain without a trophy since the 2020 FA Cup after their quadruple bid came to a painful end.[/p][embed guid="97dd9132-5ac9-43e1-af22-82e15d663c3c" url="https://x.com/Arsenal/status/2035784431118516326?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]"Very sad, very hard one to take. We know how much it means and how much we wanted it. The fact we haven't delivered that is disappointing and leaves a bad taste," Arteta said.[/b][/p][p][b]"First half, we were the better team and had the biggest chance of the game; if we scored that, it would have changed the game.[/b][/p][p][b]"In the first 20 minutes of the second half, we weren't at our best. We struggled to get out of our block and conceded the goal in an unexpected manner, obviously.[/b][/p][p][b]"You have to give credit to the opposition. They raised their level and capitalised on their moments. We didn't."[/b][/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/arsenal-hA1Zm19f/manchester-city-Wtn9Stg0/?mid=rJ3qBSJD"]Catch up on the final with Flashscore[/a][/b][/p]