On this day (1 May) in 2011 a 2-1 victory for Manchester City over West Ham left the Blues fourth on 62 points, five points behind third placed Arsenal, though City had a game in hand. A confident looking side took an early 2-0 lead with De Jong (10th minute) scoring his first goal and then Zabaleta (15th min) added a second. West Ham did score via Demba Ba in the 33rd minute and this caused some nervousness. Mancini’s side did hang on to some extent, but overall they had much more to offer than the Hammers.
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Pep Guardiola’s team won the League Cup for a record-equalling fourth time in succession with a deserved victory over Tottenham on this day (25 April) in 2021. The London club had dismissed manager Jose Mourinho earlier that week, placing coach Ryan Mason in charge for this final. At 29 Mason became the youngest man to be in charge for a League Cup final.
City were the dominant team for most of the game, but the game’s only goal didn’t arrive until eight minutes from time. Aymeric Laporte rose to head home Kevin De Bruyne’s free kick.
After the final Pep Guardiola told the BBC: ‘That is what these players give for the future generations of this club. It is not winning [just] one title. This team in the last decade was the team in England – since Roberto Mancini won the Premier League, this team wins a lot of times in England. It’s nice, four Carabao Cups in a row, it means consistency in the team to be there. We beat Arsenal and Manchester United on the way so we can say we deserved to win this competition. The way we played was fantastic and it’s nice when you win a title. The most impressive thing is in the last 33 games we won 30.’
The victory meant City were now level with Liverpool on eight League Cup final wins and no team had bettered that success. Similarly no manager had won the competition more than Pep Guardiola.
In this Covid-hit season there was some positive news for fans as a limited number were allowed to attend the final wearing face masks. Stewards were told to actively look for fans taking them off and frequently they went into the crowd to ask fans to re-mask otherwise they’d face expulsion. The final attendance of 7,773 included around 2,000 from each club and a number of locally based residents. At the end those from Manchester and the neutrals present stayed to watch the Blues lift their eighth League Cup.
Match Stats
25 April 2021
Manchester City 1 (Laporte) Tottenham Hotspur 0
Attendance 7,773 (Covid restrictions)
You can read my comments about attending the final here:
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‘History Tradition Class’ is often used on Arsenal banners (particularly when they play City it seems; there was one at Wembley) and with the two sides meeting on Sunday (19 April 2026) it seems like the same lines will be trotted out again. So for today’s feature I’ve decided to have a look at the history of the two clubs to compare successes. It seems to me that if a club claims that their club has something that another does not then it’s only fair to test that idea. Anyway here goes….
What do we mean by history? Is it success? Is it a ‘first’ that predates the rest. Is it more trophies? Is it longevity? Is it just nonsense? (probably!). So here are a few comparisons of achievements just to get the ball rolling:
Major trophies won or achievements made:
Trophy/Achievement
Year & team
Other Team
Joined the League
1892 (City as Ardwick AFC)
1893 (Woolwich Arsenal)
Promotion
1899 (City)
1904 (Arsenal)
Second Division Champions
1899 (City)
Never
Major Trophy
1904 (City)
1930 (Arsenal)
FA Cup
1904 (City)
1930 (Arsenal)
League
1931 (Arsenal)
1937 (City)
League Cup
1970 (City)
1987 (Arsenal)
ECWC
1970 (City)
1994 (Arsenal)
Fairs Cup
1970 (Arsenal)
Never
Domestic Treble
2019 (City)
Never
Traditional Treble
2023 (City)
Never
European Cup
2023 (City)
Never
Super Cup
2023 (City)
Never
Club World Cup
2023 (City)
Never
Community Shield
1930 (Arsenal)
1937 (City)
I’ll show more comparisons on success in a moment but first how about attendance comparisons?
The highest home attendance by either club is: 84,569 (City). Arsenal’s record attendance is over 10,000 lower at 73,707, achieved at a European game at Wembley.
Record League attendance: 79,491 (City); 73,295 (Arsenal).
The first time either side were the best supported team in the League: 1910-11 (City). Arsenal first achieved this feat almost 20 years later in 1929-30.
Okay, what about first and most recent successes? Here’s a list of the major trophies won by these sides listed with the first time one of the team’s achieved that success and the most recent time:
Trophy/Achievement
First
Team
Most Recent
Team
Major Trophy
1904
City
2026
City
FA Cup
1904
City
2023
City
League
1931
Arsenal
2024
City
League Cup
1970
City
2026
City
ECWC
1970
City
1994
Arsenal
Fairs Cup
1970
Arsenal
1970
Arsenal
European Cup
2023
City
2023
City
Super Cup
2023
City
2023
City
Club World Cup
2023
City
2023
City
Community Shield
1930
Arsenal
2024
City
Domnestic Treble
2019
City
2019
City
Traditional Treble
2023
City
2023
City
Interesting stats but what about most trophies won? Surely there’s a big difference? Err, well not really:
MOST TROPHIES WON
Trophy
Number & Team
Other Team
FA Cup
14 (Arsenal)
7 (City)
League
13 (Arsenal)
10 (City)
League Cup
9 (City)
2 (Arsenal)
Club World Cup
1 (City)
Super Cup
1 (City)
European Cup
1 (City)
ECWC
1 (both City & Arsenal)
Fairs Cup
1 (Arsenal)
Total
31 (Arsenal)
30 (City)
I’m sure someone will say ‘but take the Super Cup off as it’s like the Community Shield’. Okay but that still means that after all these decades there are only 2 major trophies separating City and Arsenal. Also, there are some sports historians who would say ‘remove the Fairs Cup’ as that wasn’t a UEFA tournament and the rules of entry meant that often teams finishing in a position that should allow entry couldn’t enter as only one team per city could enter. In 1969 Everton finished above Arsenal and were denied entry into the Fairs Cup because Liverpool had already qualified. Similarly Chelsea, Spurs and West Ham were denied entry due to Arsenal qualifying. The same was true across Europe. In earlier years ‘London’ had entered the competition.
I’m not going to say that Manchester City’s history is greater than any other club, nor should any other person say that about their club. Each club has its own successes and failures; reasons to be proud and moments to forget. However, when a club or its fans try to claim superiority over another because of their ‘history’ or ‘tradition’ or ‘class’ (maybe I’ll do that another day) then it’s only fair to highlight the history and tradition of success other clubs have enjoyed.
Today (10 April 2026) marks the 50th anniversary of the day City legend Colin Bell was crowned. The story has entered folklore about the day when a fan – Dave Brammer – ran on to the Maine Road pitch with a crown he had specially made for the occasion and placed it on the head of Colin as the player warmed up just before kick-off. This photo recently rediscovered captures the moment and you can read more about this remarkable day and see other photos of Colin in action that day below (this is a subscriber article – see below for details).
There’s also plenty of other stuff on Colin throughout the site so why not have a search and see what you can see?
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If you enjoy all the free material on my website and would like to support my research and keep this website going (but don’t want to subscribe) then why not make a one-time donation (or buy me a coffee). All support for my research is valued and welcome. It allows me to keep some free material available for all. Thanks.
Congratulations to Manchester City on winning the League Cup last night (22 March 2026). It was, once again, great to be there and clashes between the top two are always special. Years ago the former Manchester City trophy winning assistant manager (and later manager) Malcolm Allison was in a reflective mood when he told me: ‘Celebrate every success as if it’s your first, because it could be your last.’ It’s always stuck with me because so often we see people make assumptions about trophy success and then it’s taken away. Allison definitely experienced that, so I guess what I’m saying is… Celebrate every trophy; every moment; every player etc.
Yesterday’s success was thoroughly deserved. I was nervous in that first half when it looked like Arsenal had control for key stages, but then the second half demonstrated quite clearly how City as a team can deliver. Having our 21st birthday boy Nico O’Reilly score two goals added to the occasion and allowed a few headlines to be created. Listening to his BBC R5L interview on the way back from Wembley suggested that Nico would certainly be celebrating that success last night.
So much has already been written about the final so I don’t need to add much here. I absolutely loved the win and enjoyed the wider experience of Wembley. It’s changed a lot since my first visit (1986 Full Member’s Cup – 40th anniversary today!) and even since the 2011 FA Cup semi & final. We didn’t have a Greggs or shopping centre at our end back then!
In the 1900s when City first started making trips to Cup Finals and the 1920s when they first went to Wembley newspapers would often carry stories of how the train companies and Wembley organisers would change the food on offer depending on where the clubs were from. The 1904 final at Crystal Palace between City and Bolton brought stories published on the number of pies ordered being significantly higher than some other years because of the volume of northern fans. Southern fans, it reported, preferred sandwiches. I’d love to see if we could find similar details today – was Greggs busier last year because Newcastle were there for example?
Anyway…. If you support City enjoy the success. It was absolutely deserved and a great occasion again.
I’m looking forward to today’s League Cup final at Wembley today. Safe travels to all making the journey. Here’s a reminder of the last time City and Arsenal met in the League Cup final. This photo is of the final minutes, captured by me, looking towards the Arsenal end. This was 2018 and City won 3-0.
it’s one of the oldest fixtures either club has with a rich history stretching back to the 1890s. Both sides have found major success with City’s first major trophy coming in 1904 and Arsenal’s arriving 26 years later. As you’d expect with such a long history there are plenty of articles on my website about both clubs. Here’s a link to all those tagged Arsenal:
On this day (16 March) in 2021 City faced Monchengladbach in the second leg of this Champions League round of 16 tie. They had won the first leg 2-0 and went on to match that scoreline in this second leg. Due to Covid restrictions both legs of this tie were played at the Puskas Arena in Budapest and so this game enters the record books as one of the few home games not played in Manchester by the Blues.
City started the game without a recognised centre forward as both Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero were on the bench, but Pep Guardiola’s side were in control from the start. The German team were unable to cope with City’s quality, passing, creativity and movement.
The opening goal came when Kevin De Bruyne scored a wonderful 20 yard left footed strike after only twelve minutes. This was the 100th goal scored by City in all competitions this season. Six minutes later Ilkay Gundogan slotted the ball past the Monchengladbach ‘keeper following a great run and pass from Phil Foden.
Pep Guardiola enjoyed the victory: ‘It was a good performance; we controlled the game from the beginning. Players like Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva have a lot of quality, they help us a lot, but everyone was so committed and we’re delighted to be in the next stage. We now have everybody fit. That’s why we can rotate six or seven players. If you want to compete for competitions, you have to be fresh. The seasons are so long, we haven’t had one long week [off] since October.’
Post match the statisticians enjoyed highlighting a variety of City achievements. These included a couple of odd facts such as: Half of Monchengladbach’s defeats (5 out of 10) in the Champions League have been by City. City were also one of one three teams (AC Milan & Arsenal) to have kept seven consecutive clean sheets in the competition’s history.
Match Stats
16 March 2021
Manchester City 2 (De Bruyne & Gundogan) Borussia Monchengladbach 0
Attendance 0 (Covid restrictions)
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A difficult League game at home to Wigan saw the Blues win 1-0 on this day (5 March) in 2011, but it had been a laboured victory with City looking somewhat tired. Journalist Paul Wilson described the goal: ‘City got lucky when the normally reliable Ali al-Habsi allowed David Silva’s tame first-half shot to slip through his fingers and trickle between his legs, though in the context of the way Arsenal dropped two home points on the same afternoon luck is not something to be sniffed at. At least City had the gumption to settle for the points and a flat performance, instead of taking risks trying to be entertaining.’
City were suffering with several injuries and manager Roberto Mancini believed his side had been performing exceptionally well considering the issues. He claimed the squad was thin compared to the other title challengers: ‘Every other team has 20 or 22 players to choose from and you need that if you are playing every three days. We only have 15 or 16 at present. When we recover all our players it will not be a problem, but since January we have been unlucky with niggling injuries and now we have just lost Kolo [via a suspension].’
Writing in the Guardian Paul Wilson had some sympathy: ‘Mancini could be right about the team finding themselves in a difficult moment. The Europa League demands a trip to Kiev on Thursday, just about the last thing a team in need of a rest would fancy, and after the return leg the next league fixture is Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. A home FA Cup tie against Reading on Sunday ought to provide some respite, though City will only arrive back in the country in the small hours of Friday morning and on the evidence of their efforts against Wigan no one will be taking anything for granted.’
On this day (10 February) in 2021 Manchester City travelled to Swansea for a FA Cup tie. It was another record-breaking day for Pep Guadiola’s team.
City defeated Swansea 3-1 to progress to the quarter-finals but the victory set a record for successive domestic wins by an English top-flight club, surpassing the previous best of 14 achieved by Preston in 1891-92 and Arsenal in 1987-88. Talking about City’s 15th consecutive win Guardiola commented: ‘It shows how special these players are. And we think of the next one. I know we broke a record of all-time. To do what we have done so far is quite remarkable. The record will be broken for sure, because sports is like this, but it means a lot, to do what we have done in the winter time and Christmas time is quite remarkable. It is the toughest time, but what is important is the way we are still playing with our consistency.’
City’s goals were scored by Kyle Walker (30 mins), Raheem Sterling (47) and Gabriel Jesus (50), with Morgan Whittaker (77) scoring a late consolation goal for Swansea at the Liberty Stadium.
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