Pep Guardiola makes Arsenal Premier League title admission

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has admitted Arsenal will be out of sight if his team does not keep winning and stay in touch with the Gunners.

City is defending the Premier League title, but they are now eight points behind Arsenal at the top of the league table with the second half of the season taking off.

It has been a remarkable campaign for Arsenal, who has shown a willingness to fight regardless of their opponent.

It means even though Liverpool is struggling, winning the league title will not be a stroll in the park for City, and their manager knows it.

Speaking ahead of his team’s match against Leeds United, he admitted via The Daily Mail:

“We have Leeds and then it’s non-stop,” Guardiola said during his pre-match press conference. “Our schedule in January is terrible in terms of the number of games and the quality of the opponents. So we have to restart. This is what we did against Liverpool [in the EFL Cup] and hopefully, we can continue.”

“After our defeat against Brentford and with how strong Arsenal are, as well as the opponents who come from behind, we have to be alert and careful,” he said. ”If the distance is bigger, it will be so difficult to catch them.”

Guardiola’s thoughts were echoed by winger Riyad Mahrez with the 31-year-old desperate to get back to Premier League action after playing no part in the World Cup given Algeria’s failure to qualify.

“We have to hit the ground running,” he said. “We are not currently top of the Premier League and that is where we want to be. We will take it game by game, but our aim is to try to win another title.

“There are lots of strong teams in England who could still win the league, so we are not just focused on Arsenal, although they have been very good so far. If we want to win the league, we will have to be ready as soon as the league starts again.”