Manchester City confirmed team to take on Arsenal, with big name left on the bench

Manchester City’s line up to take on Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final has been confirmed, with Phil Foden only on the bench.

It’s mostly a strong XI from Man City manager Pep Guardiola, though, with Erling Haaland and Rodri among those starting at Wembley this afternoon.

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Still, not so long ago it would have been unthinkable for a big name like Foden to be benched for a huge match like this.

See below for the full team from City, with Ruben Dias out injured and James Trafford selected in goal over Gianluigi Donnarumma…

Manchester City line up to take on Arsenal

Your League Cup final line-up! ??

XI | Trafford, Nunes, Khusanov, Ake, O’Reilly, Rodri, Bernardo (C), Semenyo, Cherki, Doku, Haaland

SUBS | Donnarumma, Reijnders, Stones, Marmoush, Kovacic, Nico, Ait-Nouri, Savinho, Foden

? @etihad pic.twitter.com/yFQxE1CMSu

— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 22, 2026

Arsenal have also gone with cup ‘keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga over their usual number one David Raya for this game.

Can Manchester City turn their season around and dent Arsenal’s hopes?

City can never be ruled out when it comes to lifting major trophies, but at the moment they’re behind Arsenal in the Premier League title race and are probably slight underdogs in today’s game.

Still, there’s more than enough quality in this team to win the game, and that could give City the confidence they need to claw the Gunners back in the title race.

City also arguably need this trophy more than Arsenal now after being knocked out of the Champions League.

Even if City were to win today, there’s perhaps a case for saying Mikel Arteta’s men could still have the better season overall if they maintain their lead at the top of the table and perhaps add the Champions League and FA Cup to their haul.

It’s a tough one to predict, what do you think today’s result will be? Vote in our poll below…

Who's lifting the trophy today? #CarabaoCup

— CaughtOffside (@caughtoffside) March 22, 2026

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