Noel Gallagher has warned Arsenal that their loss in the Carabao Cup final could lead to them ‘choking’ in the title race.
The Gunners went into the showpiece against Manchester City on Sunday filled with confidence that the trophy would be theirs.
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But Pep Guardiola got the better of his former assistant Mikel Arteta at Wembley, with a double by Nico O’Reilly securing the trophy for City.
And Arteta’s six-year wait for a second major trophy as manager continued, in what may end up being a huge blow for the club.
Arsenal still remain nine points clear of City at the top of the Premier League with seven games to play, while they are also in the Champions League and FA Cup quarter-finals.
So, there is a chance that they could pick up a historic treble despite tasting disappointment in their first final of the campaign.
However, Oasis legend and Man City fan Gallagher believes that the Gunners could well be impacted by the loss which could benefit City.
Gallagher told talkSPORT Drive on Monday: “That game for Arsenal was enormous, they must have spoken about it in the week saying: ‘If we win this trophy, it’s the first for this team’.
“But now they’ve given everyone in the country the chance to call them chokers and bottlers again.
“And when it comes down to it, in a few weeks’ time, when there’s a game they have to win, then they’re used to choking, so we’ll see.
“Even in the Champions League, it doesn’t bode well…
“Let’s just say City and Arsenal get to the FA Cup final, they’re lining up again and looking across the halfway line thinking… they don’t seem to be the type of team to take it by the scruff of the neck in a one-off game.”
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“I don’t think Arsenal can be caught, but they’ve been shot in the thigh,” he added. “We’ll see what they’re made of.
“City have to win every game now this season… it might be too much, but it bodes well for next season.”
A mental block?
Gallagher also questioned whether the Arsenal players are made for playing in big, important games, unlike City’s.
“I don’t know what was said in the dressing room, but Pep had them fired up… it looked like City wanted it more than Arsenal,” he said.
“After the second goal Arsenal threw it in, they were looking around like, ‘just get us off the pitch’.
“At no point from the second half onwards did it feel like we were going to lose that game. Their end emptied rapid and the players didn’t want it.”
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He continued: “This is becoming a habit now for Arsenal.
“The only time they’ve turned up is when they spanked us 5-1 and other than that, you hear it from Arsenal fans all the time: ‘We never turned up’.
“I don’t know whether that’s City not allowing them to play their game, or maybe they’ve got a mental block.”
Arsenal will be thrown straight back into a crucial game after the international break with their FA Cup quarter-final away at in-form Southampton on April 4.
And then just three days after that, the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Sporting Lisbon follows.
They also face Bournemouth, Sporting again, Man City in a title race six-pointer, and Newcastle in April – with the next few weeks set to prove whether the Gunners have what it takes.
