Kepa Arrizabalaga's foul on Jeremy Doku in the Carabao Cup final was "a clear yellow card" because it was not a goalscoring opportunity, says former referee Mike Dean. The Arsenal goalkeeper was cautioned early in the second half for fouling Manchester City winger Doku outside of his penalty box following a long ball forward. Kepa was well outside of his area at the time and misjudged the bounce of the ball before wrestling with the Belgian to stop him getting a clear shot at an empty goal.

But Doku was well wide and Arsenal had players scrambling back. The City fans and their manager Pep Guardiola were still frustrated, though, and the Catalan manager made his exasperation clear towards fourth official Tom Bramall at Wembley. Former Premier League match official Dean, who now works for Sky Sports, said on their broadcast: "It is a clear yellow card - I feel sorry for the referee, he [Peter Bankes] penalises him too quick, but he went so wide it is not a clear goalscoring opportunity."

Before pundit Gary Neville added: "I think you're right Mike, I think the referee should have allowed the advantage a little bit longer to see if a goal came of it."

Ex-England defender Matt Upson reacted on BBC Radio 5 Live: "That's a judgement error from Kepa, it is a foul. He doesn't grab Jeremy Doku but he puts his arms around him."

After avoiding a dismissal in the 50th minute, Kepa made a catastrophic error to allow Arsenal to go 1-0 up 10 minutes later. The back-up keeper spilt a Rayan Cherki cross for full-back Nico O'Reilly to head in from two yards out. Neville reacted: "It is a really bad one by the goalkeeper, a real howler in a massive moment."

England international O'Reilly, 21, doubled City's lead just four minutes later when he headed in Matheus Nunes' cross from six yards out to seal his brace.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta will be particularly disappointed with the first, given he talked up No.2 goalkeeper Kepa in the build-up. He said on selecting the Spaniard as his starting shot-stopper: "He fully deserves it. He's been phenomenal when he's played. He's played the whole competition and we fully trust him."

The former Chelsea man has a wretched record in League Cup finals. Before facing Arsenal, he had lost in the final of this competition twice - to Manchester City and Liverpool - both on penalties.

That included the infamous 2019 final when he refused to be substituted off by Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri before the shootout. And against Liverpool in 2022, he skied the penalty that won it for the Reds in an 11-10 epic.