Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta faces a hectic fortnight as the north Londoners reach a pivotal moment in their season. And it appears the forthcoming challenge has become even tougher following a significant development ahead of the Carabao Cup final. The Spaniard is aiming to secure his team a place in the Champions League quarter-finals whilst maintaining their position at the top of the Premier League.

Arsenal are also a fortnight away from their cup final clash with Manchester City, with an FA Cup quarter-final to follow in early April after narrowly defeating Mansfield in the fifth round. It presents the sort of dilemmas every elite club aspires to navigate but will nonetheless prove challenging to overcome.

Supporters and pundits alike have been offering their forecasts for months regarding how successful Arsenal will be this campaign, and the next four weeks will prove crucial in determining those outcomes.

One Premier League rival seems to believe the upper hand rests with City based on what he’s witnessed this season. Here, Express Sport takes a look at the latest developments around the Emirates as Arsenal prepare to travel to Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday.

Pep Guardiola cleared for cup final

Arsenal supporters could be forgiven for experiencing a wave of hope when Pep Guardiola picked up his sixth caution of the campaign in a 3-1 victory over Newcastle on Saturday. Managers accumulate a three-match suspension for every three yellow cards they collect in England, whilst the sixth typically triggers a two-match ban.

In ordinary circumstances, this would mean Arteta’s former City manager would be confined to the stands for both next weekend’s league fixture against West Ham (March 14) and the Carabao Cup final (March 22). Nevertheless, Guardiola will exploit a loophole to guarantee he can exert maximum influence at Wembley in a fortnight’s time.

FA regulations state that “play-off matches [semi-finals and finals] in the EFL and National League System, as well as finals of the Emirates FA Cup, EFL Cup, EFL Trophy are exempt from any automatic touchline ban for the accumulation of cautions by technical area occupants.”

Guardiola was issued a sixth yellow of the campaign following an outburst directed at fourth official Lewis Smith when he felt Kieran Trippier had fouled Jeremy Doku. He’ll be available to face Real Madrid in their Champions League last-16 tie also, in addition to being reunited with his former assistant Arteta.

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Speaking following his caution at St James’ Park on Saturday, Guardiola quipped: “I will tell you something – we have all the records in this country, all of them, despite everything. We have the record of the manager with the most yellow cards. I want all records and now I have it.

“Two-game ban now and I will go on holidays the next two games. There are things after 10 years I cannot understand. Review the action. Of course I’m going to defend Doku and all my teams.”

Eddie Howe backs City as ‘strongest he’s faced’

Should Arteta have harboured any doubts about whether he can triumph over Guardiola on several occasions, Eddie Howe hasn’t made things easier. That’s following the Newcastle head coach’s assessment of City as the most gifted side he’s faced this season.

“I think that they [City] made changes to their team, but I think you see the strength in depth that they have and they possess,” Howe said. “I think that was probably a step too far for us today against them when they’re in that mood, I thought they were excellent and we fell away in the game.

“We seemed to lose our energy, but they do that to you because they keep the ball so well. They make you run, they make you chase, then you’re tired and you make another technical mistake and you’re chasing again.

“They’ve done that for years. That’s why, for me, they’ve been the best team that we’ve continually faced, and today I thought they were in a really good place and we just fell out of energy.”