Pep Guardiola toasted a record fifth League Cup after triumphing against title rivals Arsenal - but then immediately played down Manchester City's chances of beating them to the domestic crown.

A rapid brace from Nico O'Reilly an hour into Sunday's game at Wembley was enough to give City a 2-0 win over Mikel Arteta's men, who were unable to end their five-plus year wait for a major trophy. And the manner of the result has fuelled belief in some quarters that City could yet come back to deny Arsenal in the title race.

The Gunners are nine points clear at the summit, although they have played one more game than City.

But while City will take confidence from preventing Arsenal from getting their hands on the first major trophy of the season, Guardiola made it clear that Arsenal hold all the cards when it comes to the Premier League title.

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“I would love to be nine points in front, to be honest. It’s in their hands,” he told Sky Sports. “Now we need, and I need personally, an incredible break. I’m exhausted. And after we will see, step by step.

“Nottingham [Forest] and West Ham, the dropped points there punished us a lot. But we will try.

“We have a game in hand and they have to come to the Etihad with our people. We have the [FA Cup] quarter-final at home against Liverpool, I think that will help us.

“Our fans today were amazing. Last season we were maybe not full, but today all of Manchester was here.”

Arteta insisted that his team would use the defeat as fuel for the remaining two months of the season, with Arsenal also in the quarter-finals of both the FA Cup and the Champions League.

He said post-match: “Well, especially to have some perspective on it and what this team has done in the last eight months has been incredible.

“We're going to use this disappointment and this fire in the belly to have the most amazing two months that we have ever had together.

“That's on us and we'll manage that energy in the right way. Now we have to go through that pain and disappointment and it's normal and it's part of football.”

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