MX23RW : Thursday, June 18 03:32:29| >> :120:5906:5906:
Feb 25, 2018 at 4.30pm UK at Emirates Stadium
Attendance: 85,671
Arsenal
0-3
Man CityManchester City
FT(HT: 0-1)
Aguero (18'), Kompany (58'), Silva (65')

Result: Manchester City comfortably beat Arsenal to win EFL Cup for fifth time

Result: Man City beat Arsenal to win EFL Cup
© Offside
Manchester City beat Arsenal 3-0 in the EFL Cup final to win the competition for a fifth time, thanks to goals from Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany and David Silva.

Pep Guardiola has got off the mark with his first piece of silverware in English football, courtesy of Manchester City's 3-0 victory over Arsenal in this afternoon's EFL Cup final at Wembley Stadium.

The Citizens triumphed in the competition for the third time in five years through goals from Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany and David Silva under the famous arch.

City barely had to break stride to earn their first trophy under Guardiola, with Arsenal failing to get going at all in the second half as they suffered a fourth defeat in six matches, leaving them with just the Europa League to fight for.

In the maiden major final between these two sides in any competition, it was Arsenal who created the first big chance which they were unable to take.

After being picked out by Mesut Ozil at the back post, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could not quite make contact with his initial shot thanks to good defensive work from Kyle Walker, but Claudio Bravo was still required to stop the ball from crossing the line.

Bravo was also to thank for keeping out the follow-up, which Aubameyang failed to lift over the Chilean stopper from a few yards out.

City then took the lead through their only serious chance of the first half, as a simple punt forward by Bravo was lofted over the reach of David Ospina by Aguero - his 30th goal of another impressive campaign.

Arsenal felt that the goal should not have stood due to a perceived push from the goalscorer on Shkodran Mustafi in the build-up, but with the VAR system in play the goal was rightly allowed to stand.

Opportunities at both ends of the field were proving to be few and far between for the remainder of the opening 45 minutes, with Kevin De Bruyne blasting into the side-netting from inside the area at one end, and Aaron Ramsey forcing nothing more than a simple stop out of Bravo from a free kick at the other.

The Gunners, shaping up with a three-man backline and two wing-backs from the off, decided to stick with the system for the start of the second period despite struggling for creativity.

One skipper blocked another soon after the restart, as Kompany's drive from the edge of the box deflected off Laurent Koscielny - one of two survivors from the 2011 EFL Cup final defeat to Birmingham City here - and ended wide of the target.

Kompany found a way through shortly before the hour with an instinctive finish, though, helping Ilkay Gundogan's shot past a wrong-footed Ospina for a killer second.

Arsenal, with just six goals to their name throughout this year's competition, had an even bigger mountain to climb seven minutes later once Silva rounded off a nice team move, sending the ball past Ospina from a slight angle following an assist from Danilo.

Arsene Wenger, beaten in the final for a third time in a row, finally changed things around at that point by bringing on striker Danny Welbeck for defender Calum Chambers.

City, still on course to add the Premier League and Champions League to their collection, had the luxury of bringing on Gabriel Jesus late on for his first taste of competitive action this year, as the game petered to its conclusion.

There was to be no joy for Wenger in his 22nd attempt at winning this trophy, then, but for Guardiola it is a 22nd major honour during his managerial career - and a first with treble-chasing City.

ARSENAL (3-5-1-1): Ospina; Mustafi, Chambers (Welbeck 65'), Koscielny; Bellerin, Xhaka, Wilshere, Ramsey (Iwobi 73'), Monreal (Kolasinac 26'); Ozil; Aubameyang

MANCHESTER CITY (4-3-3): Bravo; Walker, Kompany, Otamendi, Danilo; Fernandinho (B.Silva 52'), D.Silva, Gundogan; De Bruyne, Aguero (Foden 89'), Sane (Jesus 77')

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Mesut Ozil celebrates getting the opener during the Premier League game between Arsenal and Newcastle United on December 16, 2017
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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool29271166214582
2Manchester CityMan City29193771314060
3Leicester CityLeicester29165858283053
4Chelsea29146951391248
5Manchester UnitedMan Utd29129844301445
6Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd29111173025544
7Wolverhampton WanderersWolves29101364134743
8Tottenham HotspurSpurs29118104740741
9Arsenal2991374039140
10Burnley29116123440-639
11Crystal Palace29109102632-639
12Everton29107123746-937
13Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2998122541-1635
14Southampton29104153552-1734
15Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton29611123240-829
16West Ham UnitedWest Ham2976163550-1527
17Watford2969142744-1727
18Bournemouth2976162947-1827
19Aston Villa2975173456-2226
20Norwich CityNorwich2956182552-2721

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