Manchester City
- City will lead the Premier League with a win on goal difference
- ‘Take it. It’s in our hands. We will defend this title until the last day’
Pep Guardiola has told Arsenal they must “fight” to take the Premier League title from Manchester City as the teams prepare for Wednesday night’s meeting.
A win for City at Arsenal would see them lead on goal difference, although Mikel Arteta’s side will have a game in hand. Guardiola’s side are hoping to clinch the title for a third consecutive year, Arsenal’s first since 2004. The City manager was asked who was more motivated.
Guardiola built this Manchester City team and knows he could lose it all | Jonathan Wilson
“The biggest motivation is that I don’t want to drop the Premier League just because we’re not who we are,” said Guardiola. “If they beat us because they are better then that’s sport, I’ll be the first to congratulate them like I always have. But not because we’re not there.
“You want it? OK, fight. Take it. It’s in our hands. We’re going to defend that title to the last day. That’s what I want. To fight to the max to keep the title. If not, accept it .But we have to do our best.My players have to feel that every day.
“It’s impossible to win two leagues and be perfect every day. Arsenal have an incredible history, bigger than us in terms of titles. But not lately. They have something special that we don’t have because we won it recently. We have to find another trick, other ways to find the fire as a team and say individually that we can still do it. If we didn’t have that, we wouldn’t be second. We would be far, far away.”
Guardiola was asked if his message to City players will be to enjoy the grandeur of the event at the Emirates Stadium. “I don’t know if enjoying is the right word,” he said. “We have to be aggressive, deal with rhythm and pressure. They will put pressure on us through the fans, the referee, the players. We have to be so active in many things.”
Despite winning so many big trophies as a coach, Guardiola is looking forward to Wednesday’s meeting. “Yes, in any case. We know what the environment will be like after what’s happened in the past few weeks and the quality of the opposition,” he said.
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