The curse of the League Cup continues

The curse of the League Cup continues

From Handbrake Off: The Athletic FC's Arsenal show by The Athletic

March 23, 2026 · 40 min

About this episode

The panel discusses Arsenal's defeat in the Carabao Cup final and the implications of the loss.

Amy Lawrence and Adrian Clarke join Ian Stone to discuss Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday The panel reflect on the issues which resulted in a poor second half display, the knock on effects of missing key players through injury, whether the sentimental decision to choose Kepa over Raya was a mistake, the majority of Arsenal’s players underperforming, Saka’s drop off in form and the errors that lead to the goals conceded.  Plus, they discuss how the team can learn from this loss and find the courage to be more assertive in big games, before looking ahead to the opportunities the international break presents for Arteta, the Arsenal players and the fans. If you like the panel’s song choices, check out the ‘Now that’s what I call Handbrake’ playlist on both Spotify and Apple Music and listen to them all there:  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6cgJk1eJwQBmiUJlSFZMJN?si=pMHHbBb8S8Ky5LtlKp7pHw&pi=Rra8NSxDRVm58&nd=1&dlsi=62f2d7c1c10045ac Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/gb/playlist/now-thats-what-i-call-handbrake/pl.u-d2b00jZuDxWk6P Producer: Robby Williams Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more…

People in this episode

Hosts: Amy Lawrence, Adrian Clarke, Ian Stone

Topics covered

  • League Cup
  • Arsenal
  • Manchester City
  • Carabao Cup
  • injuries
  • player performance
  • international break

Keywords

  • Kepa
  • Raya
  • Saka
  • big games
  • assertiveness

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Handbrake, Spotify, Apple Music

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