Guardiola ends trophy wait as Manchester City throttles Arsenal

Pep Guardiola's wait for a trophy with Manchester City has come to an end as the runaway Premier League leader outclassed a drab Arsenal side 3-0 in the League Cup final Sunday at Wembley Stadium.

Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany, and David Silva scored as City picked apart a flat Arsenal side short on structure and defensive impulse, especially after the break where the tilt resembled more a training exercise than a cup final.

City wasn't at its best, but it didn't need to be as Shkodran Mustafi's inexplicable error on Aguero's opener was followed by some atrocious play at the back after the interval. The German World Cup winner's efforts were indicative of a side short on ideas and belief at the back, and City had its way, spraying passes around like the opponents were pylons, not players.

Might as well have been, as Arsenal slumped to a second consecutive defeat at England's national stadium, after a nine-match Wembley winning streak which saw the north London lot win three of the last four FA Cups.

City got a leg up in the 18th minute when Claudio Bravo's goal-kick bypassed Mustafi, and as the Gunners centre-half lobbied for a foul instead of following the ball, Aguero ran in on goal and chipped David Ospina. If the first half was a balanced affair narrowly separated by the Argentine's 199th City goal, the second half was a lesson in the rift in class between the two sides.

Captain Kompany repaid Guardiola's faith by first beating a flat-footed Mustafi on the touchline for a corner kick that the Belgian international calmly deposited into Arsenal's net, and Silva made it three to the good seven minutes later to cement the result.

Conversely, Arsenal offered nothing going forward as blockbuster January signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sat isolated all match with a shortage of service as the Gunners mustered just five shots over 90 minutes, with just two threatening Bravo.

The two sides play again Thursday at the Emirates Stadium, as City look to re-establish a 16-point gap atop the Premier League table.