Pep Guardiola delivers honest verdict on Arsenal’s title chances following Newcastle draw

Pep Guardiola believes his Manchester City side must be “almost perfect” for the rest of the season if they wish to successfully chase down Premier League leaders Arsenal in the title race.

The Citizens have dropped five points in their last three top-flight matches, with a 2-1 home defeat at home to Brentford before the World Cup break followed by a 1-1 draw at home against Everton last weekend.

Arsenal, meanwhile, dropped points at the Emirates Stadium for the first time this season when they were held to a goalless stalemate against Champions League hopefuls Newcastle United on Tuesday night.

Mikel Arteta’s side missed the chance to move 10 points clear of second-placed Man City, and the instead hold an eight-point lead to the reigning Premier League champions, who could reduce the gap to five points with a victory against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night.

Guardiola, who has won the Premier League title in four of the last five season in charge of the Citizens, believes his side cannot afford too many more slip-ups if they wish to close in on the Gunners at the summit.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Guardiola said: “The way you have to reduce the gap is play good and win games.

“They have an average they’re going to do 100 points, Arsenal, the way they’ve done so far. If they continue that way, we will not catch them. So you have to be almost perfect, I would say.

“Yesterday they were excellent against Newcastle again. We will see what happens.”

City’s encounter with Chelsea on Thursday is the first of six fixtures during a challenging schedule in the month of January, with an FA Cup third-round clash to follow against the West Londoners at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

The Citizens will then take on Southampton at St Mary’s in the EFL Cup quarter-finals before finishing the month with three successive Premier League fixtures against rivals Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Asked whether the next six weeks could be a defining period in City’s season, Guardiola said: “Six weeks? Or many weeks? In six weeks many things are going to happen, yes for sure.

“We haven’t even finished the first leg [first half of season]. Many things are going to happen, this is my feeling, for all clubs and all teams.”

Guardiola has also shared his thoughts on Graham Potter’s Chelsea side, who have won only two of their last eight competitive matches across all competitions and currently languish in 10th place in the Premier League table.

“Tough game. Tough side. Well managed. Stamford Bridge. Doesn’t matter the position you are when you travel there, always difficult,” Guardiola added. “Same time, we’re looking forward to the next few weeks in different competitions.

“It’s Premier League, everyone is tough. That’s why the predictions at the start of the season always my answer is I don’t know. Nobody knows. We will see what happens, after World Cup many things are going to happen.”

City will be without centre-back Ruben Dias on Thursday as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury, while fellow defender Aymeric Laporte is doubtful and will be assessed ahead of kickoff.