Arsenal vs Man City Carabao Cup Final: Why is Marc Guehi not playing today?

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The football world turns its attention to Wembley Stadium today, Sunday, March 22, 2026, for a monumental Carabao Cup Final clash.

Both the teams have an opportunity to get their hands on the first Silverware of the season. Mikel Arteta's quadruple-chasing Arsenal will face off against Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, who are desperate to bounce back after their recent Champions League exit.

Before the first whistle blows, both managers are facing major headaches regarding player fitness and availability. Here is the fully verified and cross-checked injury news, predicted starting XIs, and an explanation of the controversial rule keeping a key defender out of the final.

Arsenal vs Manchester City Injury and Suspension

Arsenal

Arsenal arrive at Wembley with a few major injury concerns, especially in their midfield and defense. Mikel Merino has been ruled out for the rest of the Season after undergoing foot surgery and will definitely miss the final. Martin Odegaard remains a major doubt. The Arsenal captain has missed the last six games with a knee problem. While he was spotted in light training on Saturday, he is not expected to be fit enough to start the match. Jurrien Timber limped off with an ankle issue against Everton last weekend and missed the midweek game against Bayer Leverkusen. He will undergo a late fitness test.

Manchester City

City will be missing crucial names in their defensive line, but they have received a massive boost in attack:
Josko Gvardiol remains out with a long-term calf/ankle issue and is not expected to return until late April or May. Erling Haaland is completely ready to start at Wembley.

Arsenal vs Manchester City Lineups

Arsenal: Kepa Arrizabalaga; Jurrien Timber (or Ben White), William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães, Piero Hincapié; Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi; Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze, Leandro Trossard; Viktor Gyökeres.

Manchester City: James Trafford; Matheus Nunes, Rúben Dias, Abdukodir Khusanov, Rayan Aït-Nouri; Rodri, Nico O'Reilly, Bernardo Silva; Jérémy Doku, Erling Haaland, Rayan Cherki.

Why Marc Guehi is Not Playing Today in Carabao Cup Final?

A glaring omission from the Manchester City squad today is central defender Marc Guehi. His absence stems from a newly updated Carabao Cup regulation implemented by the EFL for the 2025-26 season.

Historically, the "cup-tied" rule meant that if a player represented one team in a cup competition, they could not play for another club in that same tournament during the same season. The EFL relaxed this rule for the current campaign, permitting players to feature for two different clubs in the Carabao Cup. However, there is one strict condition: to be eligible for the later rounds, a player's registration with their new club must be fully completed before the first leg of the semi-final.

Guehi completed his £20 million transfer from Crystal Palace to Manchester City during the January transfer window. Unfortunately for Pep Guardiola, the deal was finalized six days too late, after the semi-final stage had already commenced. Because Guehi missed this critical cut-off point, he is automatically restricted from taking the field against Arsenal today.

With Guehi forced to watch from the sidelines, City will have to rely on the defensive partnership of Dias and young Khusanov to keep Arsenal's potent attack at bay.