Pep Guardiola at Man City’s Carabao Cup final against Arsenal (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Manager Josep Guardiola spoke ahead of Manchester City’s big game against Arsenal this weekend, but what can we learn from the Spanish tactician’s pre-match thoughts?
Man City go into this game with a six-point lead at the top of the league, but the match is already decided and they could of course deal a big blow to Mikel Arteta and co, giving them a great chance to break into the lead.
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Some see this as the title deciding match of the season, but of course there are still many matches that could go either way. Still, there’s no doubt that it has the feel of being one of the biggest Premier League games in years.
Here are Guardiola’s key points as he spoke to the press before the match and provided insight into City’s preparations.
Guardiola looks more calm than Arteta
One of Guardiola’s most interesting quotes was when he kept telling City players that it was just a game.
“Today I say to you: “The players are saying, ‘This is just a football game,’ so we have to approach it like a football game.
“Of course it’s really important, but if you get too distracted by emotions and things like this, you lose focus. What’s the goal? It’s to perform well. That’s exactly what we have to do.”
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Perhaps there may be some truth to that if you already have multiple titles under your belt and no top leads to lose to.
Still, this could potentially be a big psychological boost for City, and is in stark contrast to Arsenal, who have looked anxious about losing their lead at the top of the table in recent weeks.
But… he knows this game is City’s last chance.
Even though Guardiola is relaxed, he also knows that this is his team’s last real chance of staying in the title race.
Asked if he thought this was the “final” match for the Premier League title, he replied: “Yes. “Yes, of course. If we lose, it’s over.
“But looking at the other two results, we know that Arsenal could not beat Bournemouth, but there is still a game left.
“Six games is too many, I would say our calendar is terrible. Everton away, Bournemouth away, Aston Villa in the last game at home, Burnley, Crystal Palace and Brentford. Crystal Palace, look what’s happening! Aston Villa and Crystal Palace in Europe. There’s still a lot of work to do.”
Guardiola enjoys watching Arsenal matches
Is this a battle of wits or simply a compliment to a rival? Whatever the thinking behind it, Guardiola hit back at some of Arsenal’s critics, saying he enjoys watching Arsenal.
“People are very demanding of the media, supporters, everyone. I enjoy watching them. You really learn a lot from a lot of things,” he said.
“And what people want is a win. And we are playing in a really, really important moment that we will never be able to compete in again. We haven’t won the Premier League for 22 years. We can’t compete on that front. They have something that makes them unique.”
Arsenal have been criticized this season for being overly defensive and relying too much on set pieces, and perhaps we can expect that approach in this weekend’s match.
But it’s worth remembering that Guardiola himself set up in much the same way for a match at the Emirates Stadium earlier this season.
What are your predictions for this big game? Let us know in the comments!
