Pep Guardiola wants to stop talking about Arsenal

Pep Guardiola wants to stop talking about Arsenal

Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City can’t waste time thinking about Arsenal’s results, because they still need to win every one of their games to control the title race.

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Following Arsenal’s damaging home defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola will have been well aware that there’s an opening for his team in the Premier League title race now.

If City win their two games in hand and beat Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium next weekend, they’d bridge the current nine-point gap to the league leaders.

Even if Arsenal win every other game for the remainder of the season, City could still win the league on goal difference. The Gunners have a goal difference lead of six (+38 vs +32), but that could be eaten up by the games in hand and the match between the two teams.

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Yet in his pre-Chelsea press conference on Saturday, Guardiola suggested City can’t afford to think about what Arsenal are doing, because they still need to win all of their own games.

“Talking about Arsenal, Arsenal, Arsenal,” Guardiola began. “But if we don’t win at Stamford Bridge, not an easy place to go, maybe we don’t need to make the press conference before Arsenal because it will be over.

“Everybody knows it. You know it, I know it, the players know it, everybody knows it in England.

“How many games left? We have to win all of them, all. Not one draw? No. Forget about it. Nine points is a lot of points against this Arsenal.

“But if we win there and we beat Arsenal at home, of course, always you live the illusion, the wish, to try to do it. But the reality, I’m not naive to say it’s going to happen.”

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The trip to Stamford Bridge is certainly a big game for Guardiola’s side. On paper, it’s one of City’s toughest remaining fixtures, away to a big-six club who desperately need points.

Following Saturday’s results, Chelsea sit four points outside of the top five and a Champions League qualification spot. They’re also just three points ahead of 10th, so they’re facing plenty of pressure from the teams behind them.

A defeat to City would see Liam Rosenior’s side facing a huge uphill battle to qualify for next season’s Champions League, with games against Manchester United, Liverpool, and Spurs still to come, as well as potentially tricky away trips to the likes of Sunderland and Brighton.

Arsenal fans will hope the circumstances inspire Chelsea to turn up and negate the Gunners’ embarrassing dropped points on Saturday.