VIDEO: Unseen footage appears to show Pep Guardiola's change of heart about Rayan Cherki's controversial ball juggling during Man City's Carabao Cup final win over Arsenal

Arsenal were the pre-match favourites heading into Sunday's final, having established a large lead at the top of the Premier League table. However, their wait for a first piece of silverware since 2020's FA Cup triumph will continue for now after they were beaten 2-0 by City at Wembley Stadium, with Nico O'Reilly scoring a second-half brace of headers.

While their performance merited the victory, not everyone was impressed with every aspect of the Cityzens' performance. Cherki came under the spotlight when he controlled a pass with his chest and proceeded to juggle it three times with his feet. The piece of skill drew roars of approval from the City faithful but manager Guardiola seemed to be less than impressed at the time, shaking his head on the touchline. Arsenal defender Ben White also didn't see the funny side as he soon took his chance to clatter into the former Lyon star.

However, a new piece of footage shows that the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss was not angry with the mercurial attacker for too long as the pair shared an enthusiastic hug upon Cherki's withdrawal from the action.

Cherki is not the only player to have been denounced for ball juggling. The likes of Richarlison, Antony and Neymar have all previously performed keepy-uppies in games where their teams were well on the road to victory and been criticised for it and some referees have formerly shown yellow cards for such an act, deeming it to fall under the umbrella of unsporting behaviour which fails to show respect for the game.

Having secured his first piece of silverware since signing for City last summer, Cherki probably won't be too fussed about the commotion over his ball juggling. Instead, he is set to fly over to the United States to play for France in their upcoming friendlies with Brazil and Colombia during the international break.

The 22-year-old has been included in Didier Deschamps' final Les Bleus squad before the 2026 World Cup and will be keen to make a good impression to ensure he is on the plane to North America again in the summer.