Guardiola Acknowledges Arsenal's Champions League Success But Vows City Will Fight On
At Manchester City’s training base on Friday, Pep Guardiola looked every inch a man who understands the odds – and refuses to bow to them.
His team have just coughed up two precious points in a wild 3-3 draw at Everton. The gap to Arsenal stands at five points. The margin for error has vanished. Yet when Guardiola sat down ahead of Saturday’s clash with Brentford, there was no sense of surrender. Just a clear-eyed realism wrapped around a familiar, stubborn defiance.
“We dropped two points,” he said, “but still we try.”
Respect for Arsenal’s rise
The first questions went straight to the heart of it: is the title race effectively over, especially now that Arsenal are not only leading the Premier League but heading to a UEFA Champions League final?
Guardiola didn’t dodge the context. He leaned into it.
“It’s more difficult, because we are facing the team that’s going to play the final of the Champions League,” he admitted. Then came the nod across North London. “Here I want to congratulate Mikel (Arteta) and his group on reaching the final, it’s good for English football. Of course, for Arsenal, but for English football it’s good.”
This was not a grudging acknowledgment. He broadened the lens, name-checking Aston Villa and Crystal Palace as well, both preparing for European finals of their own.
“The same like Aston Villa; Unai showed again how incredible a manager he is. I think six Europa League finals. And the same with Crystal Palace with Oliver (Glasner). So, it’s good for English football the three teams are going to play in three finals, it’s really, really good.”
Praise delivered, he circled back to the reality of City’s domestic chase. Arsenal are flying. City have slipped. The champions know exactly what they have done – and what they must still do.
“I know the only chance that we had, we dropped two points in a tough game against Everton,” Guardiola said. “But still we try to win, to sleep two points behind them, and see what happens.”
That phrase – “sleep two points behind them” – revealed the mindset. This is not a manager counting the days until the trophy heads elsewhere. This is a man still plotting the most uncomfortable possible run-in for the leaders.
Brentford first, everything else later
The equation is brutal but simple. City must beat Brentford at the Etihad. Then they need Arsenal to blink, starting with Sunday’s trip to West Ham. A home win on Saturday and a Gunners slip in east London would drag the gap back to two points, with City still holding a game in hand. Suddenly, the final fortnight would crackle.
Naturally, Guardiola was asked whether he would be glued to West Ham vs Arsenal. Would he be cheering for claret and blue?
“Let me play against Brentford, right? And do our job,” came the sharp response. The room laughed; he did not entirely join in.
“Will you be cheering West Ham on? Will you be wearing a West Ham shirt? You’re so funny, huh?!”
He went back to the only message he truly wanted out there.
“Let’s win our game against Brentford and after in the press conference, like always you are, because you cannot live without my press conferences, come there and – win against Brentford.
“So always these kind of things, it’s a big mistake thinking for the other ones. It’s a tough opponent. They are playing to be in European competition next season, making a top, top season. So let’s do our job as best as possible, and then we’ll see.”
Brentford arrive with ambition of their own, still chasing a place in Europe. City know how awkward they can be. Guardiola has no interest in turning his players’ heads towards London when there is danger coming to Manchester.
A season judged on more than a trophy
The questions inevitably moved towards legacy and perspective. If Arsenal hold on, if City’s late push falls short, how will Guardiola view this season?
“Absolutely” positively, he insisted.
He referenced mistakes in pressure moments – using Marc Guehi’s error for Everton and the experiences of younger names like Abdukodir Khusanov and Antoine Semenyo as examples of how a title race exposes players to a different kind of tension.
“Even the guys with a lot of experience can do those mistakes,” he said. “So it’s not about that.
“But it’s the first time that Marc or Khusa, Gigio (Donnarumma) less but it’s his first time here with Antoine – the first time we are in the title race, the feeling that I cannot lose that game.
“And sometimes we need a little bit of time to live that. But that’s what I said, so still we are here, the season has been more than good so far, so let’s win next game, and after we’ll see what happens, and we’ll see in the future.”
The theme never changed. One game. One job. Everything else can wait.
On Saturday, that job is Brentford at the Etihad, with City trying to drag themselves “to sleep two points behind” Arsenal by the time the night is done. On Sunday, the eyes of Manchester will turn to West Ham.
Guardiola will not say it out loud, but the question hangs over the run-in: can Arsenal hold their nerve with City still breathing down their necks?
