Pep Guardiola lists the qualities Arsenal have that Man City don’t in the title race this season
Even if Manchester City can move to within two points of the leaders on Sunday, Pep Guardiola will not be cheering for Manchester United against Arsenal this weekend, as he still believes Manchester City are miles behind the Gunners.
City’s comeback victory over Tottenham on Thursday narrowed the gap between them and Arsenal to five points, and they can reduce it to two points on Sunday if they beat Wolves at 2:00 p.m. before Arsenal plays United later in the afternoon.
However, by the time this match begins at the Emirates, City will have played two more games than Mikel Arteta’s squad.
Guardiola did not hold back on Thursday night after his team overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat Spurs, criticizing the entire club for their complacency and lack of desire to win a third consecutive Premier League title.
Therefore, regardless of the weekend’s results, the manager was more concerned with these issues than with the Premier League standings.
“It’s not about that. It’s not about that,” he insisted when asked if he would be hoping for a United win on Sunday.
“They lose against United? If we play like this we will not catch them. We need to change ourselves and after if Arsenal continue for a long time, we have to congratulate them. It is not about three or four points. Sooner or later we are going to fall down.”
Guardiola also refuted the notion that City have an advantage in the title race because they have experience chasing down large leads similar to the one they currently face.
He responded by enumerating the Arsenal attributes that City lacks: “It’s the past. See what you have now.
“They have everything with set pieces, defensive organisations, they defend ten players in the box, five or six in the back, good transitions, win duels. How they celebrate the goals, how they talk, how they oomph, how they look at each other and talk and how they communicate. This is football and tactics. Right now we don’t have it.”
And Guardiola was equally defiant when asked if he regretted selling Gabriel Jesus and Aleks Zinchenko to Arsenal, who have both played key roles for Arteta’s side while City have particularly struggled at left-back.
He said: “No. When you don’t want to stay and want to leave, you cannot stay. I wish the best for Gabriel and Aleks, fantastic people who helped us a lot. It’s not about that. Absolutely [their choice]. I never say one player leave. It’s the club, decisions they make.
“Of course Erling [Haaland] came so it was difficult for Gabriel but it is normal, Julian [Alvarez] maybe. It’s normal. It was a good deal, the players here like Raheem [Sterling], Aleks, and Gabriel always I have big compliments and big thank you for what they have done for us. After it is a good transfer for the club.
“Honestly, we are not in the position that we are because we don’t have Aleks or the others. They are good and my argument is beyond this type of things.”
Pep Guardiola lists the qualities Arsenal have that Man City don’t in the title race this season
