Kyle Walker reveals how Man City can beat Arsenal in Carabao Cup final

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Kyle Walker has revealed how Manchester City can defeat Arsenal in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final, drawing on his experience of playing under both Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta.

The Burnley defender, who spent eight years at the Etihad Stadium before departing in the summer, believes his former club hold the tactical edge when the two sides meet at Wembley Stadium.

“Arsenal are not harder to play against this season, compared to Manchester City,” Walker told Gary Neville on The Overlap. “City know what they’re doing, and it’s ingrained in them because there’s a core group of players there that know what is needed and wanted from the manager, which will be you isolate your full backs 1v1 and the wingers will probably nine times out of 10 win you the game.”

Arteta’s Guardiola influence

Walker’s tactical insight stems from his unique position of having worked under both managers. Arteta joined Guardiola’s coaching staff at Manchester City in July 2016, shortly after retiring from his playing career at Arsenal.

The Arsenal boss spent three years learning from the Catalan coach, helping Guardiola adapt to the Premier League during his early tenure. During that period, City signed Walker from Tottenham for approximately £50million – then a world-record fee for a defender – and went on to win two Premier League titles and the FA Cup.

In December 2019, Arteta made the move to Emirates Stadium as head coach, replacing Unai Emery. He immediately put his Guardiola education to use, leading the Gunners to FA Cup glory in August 2020 and transforming them into one of Europe’s strongest teams.

“I’ve worked with Mikel Arteta at Manchester City, and Mikel’s taken a lot of things from Pep in the way that he coaches,” Walker explained.

Tactical similarities exposed

The England international detailed specific elements of Guardiola’s philosophy that are evident in Arsenal’s approach, particularly around ball retention and positional play.

“It’s the formation, it’s the up, back and throughs. It’s the set the ball, don’t turn on the ball,” Walker said. “Set the ball, don’t turn on it. As a youth team, if he’s got the half-turn receiver on the back foot, Pep hates it.”

Walker used Kevin De Bruyne as an example of how Guardiola’s players are coached to receive possession, explaining how the Belgian would “let the ball run past him” rather than receiving and turning, before moving to specific positions to create space.

Sunday’s final represents another chapter in the Arteta-Guardiola rivalry. The last time they met at Wembley, Arsenal emerged victorious in the 2023 Community Shield, winning on penalties. Both managers will be seeking their first piece of silverware this season when they lock horns on March 22.