Arsenal vs Man City more than English League Cup final

MANCHESTER, England:

When Arsenal and Manchester City lock horns in the English League Cup final on Sunday there will be more at stake than the first domestic silverware of the season.

The trophy is the tangible reward. The intangibles could ripple further, especially on the Premier League title race.

With all due respect, the League Cup would have ranked at the bottom of the priority list for Arsenal and City when the season began. The Premier League and the Champions League would rank at the top and the FA Cup somewhere in between.

The League Cup, however, has taken on greater significance given both finalists' rivalry in the context of the season.

The winner at Wembley Stadium could deal the loser a huge psychological blow.

INFERIORITY COMPLEX

For Arsenal - top of the table and nine points ahead of City - there would be further confirmation of their superiority over their main title rivals. That is important for a team that appeared to have an inferiority complex when it comes to City, after losing the title twice in recent years from commanding positions.

For manager Mikel Arteta, who was once Pep Guardiola's assistant at City, it will be evidence that he can get the better of his former mentor when it comes to lifting major trophies.

That is still very much in question, even in a year when Arsenal are vying for an unprecedented quadruple.

Should City triumph on Sunday there is the danger that the damage to Arsenal's confidence would send their season into a tailspin.

That is the sort of psychological impact Guardiola would likely want to inflict: To sow seeds of doubt into an Arsenal team that still have to play City at Etihad Stadium. And with City having a game in hand on Arteta's team, there is the potential that the lead could be down to three points after the match in Manchester.

Another intangible is momentum, which at this stage of the campaign is so crucial.

City's ambitions have hit some road bumps in recent weeks. Like Arsenal, City were also targeting a quadruple. But back-to-back draws in the league and elimination from Real Madrid in the Champions League have left City with two trophies to play for.

Defeat in the League Cup final -- a trophy Guardiola has won four times at City -- would add to the sense that the season is unravelling.

With speculation that this could be Guardiola's final year at City, the League Cup may well be his best chance of going out on a winning note.