Pep Guardiola begins Arsenal mind games with 'pressure' remark
By Tom Gott
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has argued that Arsenal do not face the same sort of pressure as his side as the two teams chase Premier League glory.
Mikel Arteta's Gunners sit top of the table with an eight-point lead over City, who have the chance to reduce that gap to five when they play their game in hand against a struggling Chelsea side on Thursday evening.
Guardiola sees it as a must-win game as he challenged his City side to be as close to perfect as possible in their attempt to reclaim top spot.
"We have to be almost perfect, I would say, from here to the end of the season and hope they drop a little bit in their performance," said the boss. "But, at the same time, I see the way we played the last games, and the feeling is good.
"My target always as a manager is to try to be yourself and be better than the opponent, and after if you concede one shot and they score and we can't score, you have to accept it and move forward.
"What I want to see is us still fight, don't give up, not now, until the last chance, until the last drop of water we can fight to win the Premier League, and the moment we are not able to win the Premier League we have to be ready to compete next season. This is when teams are really good."
Guardiola went on to argue that no team in England faces the same sort of pressure as City who, he claimed, are supposed to be clear at the top of the Premier League table by this point in the season.
"The advantage of Arsenal and Manchester United right now is nobody has to win the Premier League for 20 points ahead in November like Manchester City has to - and this is sometimes a big problem," he continued.
"People say, 'Ah, yes, you are...' Yes, we are, but with Arsenal winning all their games and you are seven or eight points behind... it [Arsenal winning the title] can happen."