Man City boss Guardiola fears backlash from Arsenal in crunch showdown
Pep Guardiola admits he fears a backlash from Arsenal in their crunch Premier League clash… as he insists the Gunners’ recent dropped points will make his Man City side’s task at the Etihad Stadium ‘much more difficult’
- Manchester City face Arsenal in a crunch title showdown on Wednesday night
- Mikel Arteta’s side go into the match on the back of three consecutive draws
- Pep Guardiola fears that they could face a backlash from the current leaders
Pep Guardiola fears a backlash from Arsenal in Wednesday’s crunch Premier League title showdown.
Mikel Arteta takes the leaders to the Etihad Stadium on the back of a three-match winless streak and knowing defeat hands the advantage to the defending champions.
Arsenal’s largest lead has been eight points but that could be cut to just two, with City still possessing two games in hand.
‘I always had the feeling that it would have been so difficult to play them at this stage,’ the City manager said. ‘But after three games dropping points it will be much, much more difficult now.
‘I would have preferred it if they had come here with better results. They didn’t win a game. It would always be difficult but with these results it will [now] be much more difficult.
Manchester City’s clash with Arsenal on Wednesday could decide the destination of the title
Mikel Arteta’s side go into the match tomorrow on the back of three consecutive draws
Guardiola fears that this could lead to a backlash from the Gunners in their crunch match
‘I don’t like to suffer and the opponents has chances. Every day I work to have 90 minutes control of the game but at the same time you have to accept sometimes it won’t happen.
‘You can play badly and the opponent can do many good things. The difference is maybe because our defenders are [now] proper defenders and defend well and that helps us to be solid but this is not going to happen for the way Arsenal play.’
While refusing to label the meeting as defining, Guardiola – without the injured Nathan Ake – did admit that he still feels nervous ahead of momentous ties.
The 52-year-old wants his squad to feel anxiety and embrace it on the biggest stage, and demanded an improvement on the performance that knocked Bayern Munich out of Europe last week.
‘It is a good sign, being a little bit nervous,’ Guardiola added. ‘The people in society, all of them are mental health psychologists because they don’t accept that being nervous is part of our lives, being anxious is part of our lives, being scared is part of our lives.
‘I like to live this kind of… adrenaline, I would say that would be best to define this, the adrenaline that you have. But in the end, I sleep quite well.
Guardiola’s Man City side have been in relentless form since the last international break
‘We don’t have to be perfect. When we educate our kids, they have to be perfect for Instagram and Tiktok – they have to be. I would say that uncertainty happens, so when I feel that feeling I know it’s normal. The problem would be if I didn’t have that feeling.
‘Perfection doesn’t exist in football. Against top teams your standard has to be so high because they demand it.
‘Arsenal demand that of other teams, it is exactly what you have to do to impose your game.
‘The 4-1 against Bayern was fake. The two games, it wasn’t that distance. I don’t know if that [level of performance] will be enough tomorrow or get to the Champions League final.’
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