Arsenal vs. Man City: 5 Things Both Teams Learned from Carling Cup Quarterfinal

In an Arsenal season that's already overloaded with just this sort of heartache, this one has to be especially galling.

Sure, Arsenal might not have dominated Manchester City on Tuesday in a Carling Cup quarterfinal at the Emirates Stadium. But the young Gunners must have felt like they created enough chances to expect something from the match.

It didn't happen, though. Sergio Agüero and big, bad Manchester City rode its luck—and its B-team—to a 1-0 win and a spot in the semifinals. The losing moment was quick. It was painful. It was almost too predictable.

And now, Arsenal's best chance at silverware this season is gone. Gone, too, is the chance to show up Mr. Moneybags Samir Nasri. Gone, for that matter, is Arsenal's great run that had provided so much hope in recent weeks.

No, instead of getting something from the match, the Gunners are now out of another competition—let's go ahead and admit that the Premier League is out of reach—and will have to hope to win the FA Cup or the Champions League if they want to end their six-year trophy drought.

For City, things couldn't be any more different. On a night when Roberto Mancini showed with his team selection that a loss wouldn't bother him too, too much, City somehow still managed to win despite creating only two shots on target.

It's a long season, and anything can still happen, but it must be really great to support the blue half of Manchester right now.

Arsenal: It Could Be Another Barren Season in North London

Forget every other competition for a moment.

This was Arsenal's best chance at silverware this season. Now, it's gone.

That's not to say Arsenal now has no shot to win a trophy this season. It just means Arsenal's easiest, most direct path to silverware is now kaput.

Technically, the Gunners could still win the Premiership (does anyone believe that, though?) and they are at least decent bets in both the FA Cup and Champions League.

But where else is Arsenal going to play for a trophy against most clubs' B-teams?

Answer: Nowhere.

Unfortunately, that might be where this season, like the previous six trophy-less editions, might be going.

Manchester City: Samir Nasri Was Poor Again

It's hard to blame him, in a way. Most of the fans at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday would have gladly punched him in the face over his transfer—and comments—over the summer.

At the same time, though, it's both easy and appropriate to blame Nasri. He made his bed. Now he's lying in it. He chose to transfer to Manchester City, and he had to know it would tick off some Arsenal fans.

More importantly, he's a professional, and professionals should be able to ignore taunts from angry fans.

Nasri wasn't able to ignore them, though, and he was clearly uncomfortable in his own skin over the course of the match.

Not surprisingly, he didn't play well at all. And after a string of underwhelming performances, that's becoming the norm for him.

Sigh. The funny part about all this, of course, is that Nasri wouldn't have played in this match if he'd stayed at Arsenal.

Arsenal: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Is a Future Star

Day by day, match by match, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is building a reputation at Arsenal. Before too long, he's going to feature regularly in the first team.

After watching the 18-year-old midfielder Tuesday night, any onlooker must be thinking that that promotion will come sooner than later. AOC was pure class, dazzling defenders with his dribbling and creating chances for himself and his teammates.

His curling shot midway through the first half was good enough for a goal, but Manchester City keeper Costel Pantilimon came up with a stellar save to push the ball away from the top corner.

More impressive for AOC, though, was a long, mazy dribble in the 66th minute. It was so skillful that Manchester City needed three players challenging to steal back the ball.

Arsenal's promising youngster didn't score a goal Tuesday, but he gave Arsenal fans reason to hope even after losing their best chance at silverware this season.

Manchester City: Hargreaves Lives!

It was nice to see Owen Hargreaves get a run-out.

He even turned in a decent performance, too.

It wasn't a great performance, though, and it's hard to imagine Hargreaves getting many more chances for City this season outside the Carling Cup.

Maybe that will be enough to earn him an offer at another club next year. After coming back from all the injuries, Hargreaves deserves that much.

Arsenal: Is Arshavin Done?

Andrei Arshavin made a cameo appearance for Arsenal, replacing the excellent Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for the final few minutes.

He looked awful. Again.

In stoppage time, Arshavin received a pass and promptly gave away possession with a terrible first touch.

Other than that, he didn't really do anything.

It's a shame, too, because we all know what he's capable of.

Will Arshavin ever regain that form for Arsenal?

Doubtful.

Manchester City: What's Up with Kolarov?

It took just 32 minutes for City boss Roberto Mancini to decide he wanted Sergio Agüero to replace Aleksandar Kolarov.

And it seemed like Mancini wanted to do it even sooner. Literally minutes after the opening whistle, Agüero was warming up on the sideline.

So what gives?

It was unclear whether Kolarov was injured or Mancini just wanted to make a change. What's even more unclear is why Mancini would throw on a first-teamer like Agüero before halftime in a game he didn't start.

Even with a squad as big as Manchester City's, there's something to be said for resting your best players. Mancini surely must have wanted to give Agüero a little break, but either an injury or Kolarov's poor form forced his hand.

Maybe I'm reading into this too much, but it just strikes me as odd.

Arsenal: The Kids Are OK

It wasn't just Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Most of Arsenal's young guns played well, even if they didn't win.

I'm especially pointing to Emmanuel Frimpong and Francis Coquelin. Frimpong was an animal for most of the match playing the holding role, while Coquelin was, at times, just as dangerous as AOC.

Of course, this was the type of game that Wenger had probably envisioned for them before the season, as opposed to August's trial by fire at Old Trafford. Looking back, it seems ridiculous to even think that they could have passed that test.

Now, though, they’re doing fine.

If all three continue to develop—and they all resist the temptation to leave North London—Arsenal could have a strong squad in the coming seasons.

Manchester City: Costel Pantilimon!

Who knew Manchester City had another solid goalkeeper on the bench?

It shouldn't be surprising considering the quality City have throughout the squad.

Still, though, Romanian keeper Costel Pantilimon demonstrated his value Tuesday night.

He made an excellent save on Park Chu-Young's point-blank effort in the first half and went one better on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's curling effort a few minutes later.

Arsenal had seven shots on target to Manchester City's two, but Pantilimon made the difference.

On second thought…

Both Teams: The Value of Depth

This was the real difference in the game, and it's a point that was made in bright, glowing neon-sign lettering.

The test case was each team's best chance of the match. The test subjects were the respective players involved: Park Chu-Young for Arsenal and Sergio Agüero for Manchester City.

Park Chu-Young took Arsenal's best chance in the first half, and he did well enough with it, hitting the ball well back across the face of goal as Pantilimon was heading the opposite way.

Pantilimon saved it, though, and Arsenal never had a better chance to score.

Now, here's the difference between the teams.

Sergio Agüero—a substitute, if you'll remember—didn’t give Arsenal goalie Lukasz Fabianski the opportunity to ruin his and Manchester City’s best chance. He received Adam Johnson’s superb pass on City’s slick breakaway and buried his low show at the near post.

Game over. Same for Arsenal's best chance at a trophy. But it wouldn't have been so if Arsene Wenger only had a better striker available for the Carling Cup.

He doesn't, though, and you could almost hear the Manchester City fans sneering at the home supporters. Our squad is deeper than your squad. And we’re going to win more trophies than you this year.

It really is as simple as that.