Guardiola relishing end-of-season chase for silverware amid Arsenal title battle

Pep Guardiola says he and his players relish the pressure that comes with fighting on multiple fronts in the final few weeks of the season.

City moved to within six points of Arsenal at the summit of the English top-flight, after a 1-4 away win at Southampton preceded a 2-2 draw between the Gunners and Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.

Manchester City also have a game in hand on Mikel Arteta’s squad, while the two sides are also due to face off at the Etihad Stadium in their final clash of the season – a contest that could have a huge say in the direction of this season’s Premier League title.

Unlike Arsenal, Guardiola’s semi-finalists remain in the hunt for the FA Cup and are also in contention for the Champions League trophy, Tuesday’s quarter-final clash with Bayern Munich next in a crowded fixture list the City boss insists he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Being again in the quarter-finals in Europe is a moment to enjoy,” he explained.

“In September, October, November I enjoy less. When we arrive in the last stages, fighting for the title, I’m the happiest man in the world. I love to be here.

“What’s going to happen? I don’t know. [If we’re] going to win, everything is going to be perfect. If we lose, we will be a failure.

“Nothing is going to change. The day after, [there will be a] sunrise. We will try it again in the future.

“This is the mindset we will need to do. We have done it in the past, that’s why I’m incredibly happy with the players I have. The Club we are.

“Everyone is pushing to be better and get better and better. That’s why we are here.”

Guardiola will encounter a familiar face in the Bayern dugout in the form of the recently-appointed Thomas Tuchel, the man in charge of Chelsea when City fell 1-0 to the Blues in the 2021 final.

“He is one of the best managers for sure,” said Guardiola, who insisted he is harbouring no resentment from that match.

“He’s done really well everywhere, in Germany, in Paris, in England, so it’s a pleasure to see him again. It happens. You lose games and you win games and you lose games. We lost it. We are here again to try it again, and the world will turn again and again so nothing is going to change.”