Pep Guardiola says Arsenalâs visit is âthe finalâ of their title run-in, with the Manchester City manager claiming his sideâs bid to retain the Premier League is far more difficult than Arsenalâs âeasyâ task of becoming champions after so many years.
City stand a point behind Arsenal, who lead Liverpool on goal difference, with 10 matches left. Mikel Artetaâs team won Octoberâs reverse fixture 1-0 in pursuit of the clubâs first league title since 2004 and Guardiola is conscious of how crucial Sundayâs meeting is as he aims to lead City to a record fourth Âsuccessive championship.
âPeople cannot imagine how difficult it is â canât figure this out for one second,â he said. âTo fight for one title that you havenât won for many years is âwow, it is easyâ. But now being for many, many years still being there [competing] is âwowâ. The benchmark for the new generations in this club, for what we have done is really, really good.â
Guardiola believes Arsenal and Liverpool will not drop many points. âThe quality Liverpool have, Arsenal too to win, I donât know how many games in a row, score a lot of goals, the quality they play so I donât think so,â he said when asked if Cityâs rivals would falter. âI know my team when itâs close to the end, they do everything â they [Arsenal and Liverpool] will do too. So thatâs why Sunday is the final absolutely.â
Experience of winning the title cuts no ice with Guardiola, whose side follow up Sundayâs match with the visit of Aston Villa. âWhat you have done in the past in sport doesnât matter. The past is the past,â he said. âWhat matters now is Arsenal and then Aston Villa. You will not beat them if you are thinking in the past and what you have done before.
âOf course it is important what we have done before, but I didnât expect to arrive where we are now [in contention]. But after more than 20 years, Arsenal havenât won the Premier League, so they will have something to prove and thatâs normal. When Liverpool won the title after many years [in 2020], that gives you Âsomething special.â
The first of Cityâs five titles under Guardiola came in 2017-18, his second season. âIn our first year, it was like: âOh God, we will give everything in every single game to win the Premier League,ââ he said. âBut what we have to do is be ourselves.â