MANCHESTER, England — It’s Manchester City vs. Arsenal in the English League Cup final. The current top two in the Premier League will go head-to-head at Wembley Stadium next month after City beat Newcastle 3-1 on Wednesday to complete a 5-1 win on aggregate in the semifinals.Both City and Arsenal are still in contention for a clean sweep of trophies this season. The League Cup is the chance to lift the first piece of major silverware this term and to potentially inflict a psychological blow in the race for the title. “We’re here to win trophies and we give our best every day to reach these finals and win the silverware,” City forward Omar Marmoush – who scored two goals on the night – told Sky Sports. Arsenal currently leads the standings by six points ahead of second-place City. Both teams are through to the round of 16 in the Champions League and and fourth round of the FA Cup. The League Cup final is on March 22. Two first-half goals from Marmoush at the Etihad effectively finished off Newcastle in a semifinal where City led 2-0 from the first leg. Tijjani Reijnders added another before the break. Newcastle scored a consolation through substitute Anthony Elanga and prevented what looked like being a rout after the first 45 minutes. Arsenal booked its place in the final with a 1-0 win against Chelsea on Tuesday to seal a 4-2 aggregate victory. The final will continue the recent rivalry between the clubs, which has seen City beat Arsenal to the title in 2023 and ’24. On both occasions Arsenal had led the way before being overhauled.Mikel Arteta’s team is ahead again this season and aiming to win the title for the first time since 2004.Popular ReadsThe League Cup would be Arteta’s first major trophy since his debut season as Arsenal manager when he won the FA Cup in 2020.He was formerly Pep Guardiola’s assistant at City and victory in the final would see him finally beat his former colleague to a major trophy.Guardiola …
