ARSENAL boss Mikel Arteta has defended Kepa Arrizabalaga after his costly error in their 2-0 Carabao Cup final loss to Man City.
The Spanish shot-stopper was guilty of a clanger by dropping a cross before Nico O’Reilly‘s first strike at Wembley.
He hardly covered himself in glory for O’Reilly’s second before Pep Guardiola‘s men sealed glory over their rivals to the win the League Cup for the ninth time.
Kepa nearly got caught out earlier on after he came charging outside his box to deal with Jeremy Doku.
But Arteta said he had earned his shot after playing all the previous Carabao Cup games this season.
He insisted “errors are part of football” and said it would have been “very unfair” to go with usual No 1 David Raya for this game.
Arteta said: “I made a decision before the game based on what he has done all season.
“The fact he has played in the competition and helped us be where we are today. It would have been very unfair to choose a different one.”
“I have to do what I feel is right, which is honest and which is fair, and I think we have an understanding with Kepa.
“He’s played all the competition and I think it would have been very, very unfair for him and for the team to do something different.
“We are guided by what we’ve seen and what he’s done, what he’s done in the competition, and he helped us to go all the way through here. I believe it’s the right thing to do, and that’s it.
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“Errors are part of football, and today it happened, unfortunately, in a crucial moment.”
While he might have got the backing from his manager, Kepa was given a tougher assessment by pundits.
Sky Sports’ Gary Neville hit out at his “nonsense” during the game and took aim at the keeper for looking shaky by making “punch after punch”.
He said: “They were knocking at the door and City’s fans could smell blood behind that goal.
“It is a really bad one by the goalkeeper, a real howler in a massive moment, but it was punch after punch and O’Reilly steals in.”
Kepa’s dismal day continued his rotten streak in League Cup finals during his career.
In 2019, he came under fire for refusing to be substituted for Chelsea against Man City as the game went to penalties – and the Blues went on to lose 4-3.
He played in another shootout in 2022, blasting his own spot kick over the bar as Chelsea lost 11-10 to Liverpool.
