Pep Guardiola has questioned the rule which means Marc Guéhi ­cannot play in the Carabao Cup final against ­Arsenal in March, though the ­Manchester City manager has said the club will ask the Football League to reconsider.

City reached the Wembley showpiece after Wednesday’s 3-1 semi-final second-leg win against Newcastle, which gave them a 5-1 aggregate victory after the 2-0 result in the first leg on 13 January.

Guéhi was not eligible as he had already played for Crystal ­Palace ­earlier in the competition and joined City on 19 January for £20m. The EFL Cup rule 6.4.2 states that a player can represent two clubs in the trophy if he joins the second club before the semi-final first leg. Antoine ­Semenyo was eligible for the semi‑final as he joined from Bournemouth on 9 January.

Guardiola said: “I told the club we must ask – hopefully we can convince the Carabao Cup that Marc can play the final. I don’t understand why he cannot play the final. Hopefully we make a letter – you buy a player for a lot of money and he is not able to play for a rule I don’t understand. Hopefully they can change it.”