Arsenal loses the League Cup final: Let the pain be felt once and then move on

The players and coaching staff of Arsenal stood stunned, gathered in a group, forcing themselves to watch Manchester City receive the medals, lift the championship trophy, and bask in all the glory. Hands on hips, arms crossed over chests, blank faces with distant, vacant stares.

You have to do that. You have to personally experience that feeling. It could be part of the process to absorb one of the most fundamental lessons in sports: resilience in facing defeat. Let this pain sting. And then, use that pain as motivation, believing you will do everything possible to deliver a comeback next time and never have to endure this feeling again.

Tony Adams, the most recent captain of Arsenal to lift the League Cup over 30 years ago, once said something very fitting at this moment: "You learn more from failures than from victories," he said long ago. After all, he won numerous titles in his career, so he understood these things well.

That is a message Arsenal must reflect on after a match with no bright spots to salvage. Perhaps Ben White's foul on Rayan Cherki after the latter's teasing dribble was... the biggest highlight of the second half, and that alone speaks volumes about Arsenal's performance.

Coach Mikel Arteta used the term "big picture" when considering how his players will "digest" this defeat within the broader context of the season. "We will use this disappointment and the burning desire inside to create the best two months we have ever had together," he said.

That is an accurate encouragement, although saying it is easier than doing it, and not only the players will need to ponder and react after this loss. Arteta himself will also have to review his own decisions, even as he firmly defended the choice of the second goalkeeper, Kepa Arrizabalaga (who made the mistake that changed the course of the match), not being a problem or a regret.

He believes it was a fair, justified decision and does not intend to change his view just because the outcome was unfavorable. "There will be many aspects we need to dissect," Arteta pondered.

From defense to attack, Arsenal did not show their best form on the evening at Wembley. As the promising early period passed, giving way to a stalemate and physically draining battle, they began to lose basic principles. Passes became careless, relying on luck rather than precision and caution. The marking system stretched.

Most importantly, fatal mistakes stifled their play. Especially during the dreadful period early in the second half, when Man City seized the opportunity to score two quick goals to turn the tide. Man City elevated their game while Arsenal faltered, and that settled everything.

Will there be any repercussions when the two teams meet again at Etihad a month later? There are still many matches in between, so don't speculate too far ahead. However, Arsenal now clearly imagines what they should not do when facing Man City in the upcoming Premier League match that will decide points. Certainly they must play better, differently, with a more refined attitude and composure.

Arsenal fans are fully entitled to ask, right at the moment when Arrizabalaga's clumsy hands gifted Man City a goal, what did they do wrong in this tournament to suffer defeat? Nine finals, seven failures, the League Cup clearly is not Arsenal's beloved.

But the key point lies here. Fortunately, Arsenal still has other horizons ahead. This defeat is not the end of their season, and the responsibility of Arteta and his players is to set aside this bitter pain, ensuring they do not deviate from the much more important goal of winning three points this season.

Regardless of the Carabao Cup outcome, they are still far ahead of the chasing pack by 9 points in the Premier League, they are still one of the few English teams remaining in the most prestigious European arena. Regardless of the Carabao Cup outcome, they still have an FA Cup quarter-final against Southampton.

If any critics outside the club want to predict an impending collapse due to one poor match, they are fully entitled to do so. But within the team, the top priority now is to reflect, learn, and turn disappointment into fuel for the goals ahead.

This should simply be regarded as a rare bad day. Though extremely painful, they must rise, dust off, and restart the title hunt when club football resumes after the international fixtures. This season, they have often shown a habit of bouncing back strongly after "stunning blows."

"The responsibility lies with us and the whole team will channel that energy correctly. Now, we must go through this pain and disappointment; it is normal and part of football. The positive is that we have very clear evidence in recent history of how this group responds in difficult moments, and I am confident we will do that again."