Manchester City will ask permission to field Marc Guehi in the Carabao Cup final against Arsenal with the rules currently leaving the defender ineligible
Manchester City will ask the Football League for permission to field Marc Guehi in March’s Carabao Cup final against Arsenal. The Blues new boy missed the semi-final second leg victory over Newcastle United having not signed in time for the first leg. City’s other January signing Antoine Semenyo had joined prior to that game in the north east and played and scored in the 2-0 win.
City benefited from a rule change this season that allowed players to play for two teams in the same competition, meaning Antoine Semenyo and Max Alleyne were able to play in the semi-final despite appearing for Bournemouth and Watford respectively in previous rounds. They were also able to name Sverre Nypan in their squad for the second leg, as he had not featured in the competition while on loan at Middlesbrough.
However, Guehi is unable to play at Wembley against Arsenal as there was a time restriction that meant players had to be available for their second club before the first leg of the semi-final. That means Guehi again will have to sit it out despite Semenyo and Alleyne being eligible for selection.
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City boss Pep Guardiola said after the semi-final win over Newcastle United that he has asked the club to contact the authorities to request a rule change to allow Guehi to feature at Wembley. Guardiola is perplexed that a player signed in January will not be able to play for City in late March, when the Carabao Cup final takes place at Wembley.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Guardiola said: “Hopefully in March, we can arrive with the player’s fit and hopefully you can convince the Carabao Cup that Marc Guehi can play in the final because it’s difficult to understand that the club who make a big investment to pay one player who belongs to us and I don’t understand why he cannot play the final.
“So hopefully we write a letter and hopefully the Carabao Cup can understand. He’s not able to play for a rule that I don’t understand why. Hopefully, they can change it.”