{"id":45964,"date":"2026-04-17T08:05:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T12:05:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/17\/3-things-we-learned-from-josep-guardiolas-press-conference-ahead-of-man-city-vs-arsenal\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T08:05:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T12:05:31","slug":"3-things-we-learned-from-josep-guardiolas-press-conference-ahead-of-man-city-vs-arsenal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/17\/3-things-we-learned-from-josep-guardiolas-press-conference-ahead-of-man-city-vs-arsenal\/","title":{"rendered":"3 things we learned from Josep Guardiola&#8217;s press conference ahead of Man City vs Arsenal"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/17\/3-things-we-learned-from-josep-guardiolas-press-conference-ahead-of-man-city-vs-arsenal\/#Guardiola_looks_more_calm_than_Arteta\" >Guardiola looks more calm than Arteta<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/17\/3-things-we-learned-from-josep-guardiolas-press-conference-ahead-of-man-city-vs-arsenal\/#But%E2%80%A6_he_knows_this_game_is_Citys_last_chance\" >But&#8230; he knows this game is City&#8217;s last chance.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/17\/3-things-we-learned-from-josep-guardiolas-press-conference-ahead-of-man-city-vs-arsenal\/#Guardiola_enjoys_watching_Arsenal_matches\" >Guardiola enjoys watching Arsenal matches<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>Pep Guardiola at Man City&#8217;s Carabao Cup final against Arsenal (Photo by Julian Finney\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Manager Josep Guardiola spoke ahead of Manchester City&#8217;s big game against Arsenal this weekend, but what can we learn from the Spanish tactician&#8217;s pre-match thoughts?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Download the official CaughtOffSide app to get all the latest news and updates straight to your phone. above <span role=\"presentation\"><u>apple<\/u><\/span>  &#038; <span role=\"presentation\"><u>Google play<\/u><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>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&#8217;s no doubt that it has the feel of being one of the biggest Premier League games in years.<\/p>\n<p>Here are Guardiola&#8217;s key points as he spoke to the press before the match and provided insight into City&#8217;s preparations.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Guardiola_looks_more_calm_than_Arteta\"><\/span>Guardiola looks more calm than Arteta<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>One of Guardiola&#8217;s most interesting quotes was when he kept telling City players that it was just a game.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"css-1jxf684 r-bcqeeo r-1ttztb7 r-qvutc0 r-poiln3\">\u201cToday I say to you: <\/span><span class=\"css-1jxf684 r-bcqeeo r-1ttztb7 r-qvutc0 r-poiln3\">&#8220;The players are saying, &#8216;This is just a football game,&#8217; so we have to approach it like a football game. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"css-1jxf684 r-bcqeeo r-1ttztb7 r-qvutc0 r-poiln3\">&#8220;Of course it&#8217;s really important, but if you get too distracted by emotions and things like this, you lose focus. What&#8217;s the goal? It&#8217;s to perform well. That&#8217;s exactly what we have to do.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Want more catchoffside coverage? Add us <\/i><\/b><b><i><span draggable=\"true\">Google recommended sources<\/span><\/i><\/b><b><i>    Add trusted news to your favorites list<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p>Perhaps there may be some truth to that if you already have multiple titles under your belt and no top leads to lose to.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"But%E2%80%A6_he_knows_this_game_is_Citys_last_chance\"><\/span>But&#8230; he knows this game is City&#8217;s last chance.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Even though Guardiola is relaxed, he also knows that this is his team&#8217;s last real chance of staying in the title race.<\/p>\n<p>Asked if he thought this was the &#8220;final&#8221; match for the Premier League title, he replied: &#8220;Yes. <span>\u201cYes, of course. If we lose, it\u2019s over. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cBut looking at the other two results, we know that Arsenal could not beat Bournemouth, but there is still a game left.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>&#8220;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&#8217;s happening! Aston Villa and Crystal Palace in Europe. There&#8217;s still a lot of work to do.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Guardiola_enjoys_watching_Arsenal_matches\"><\/span>Guardiola enjoys watching Arsenal matches<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>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&#8217;s critics, saying he enjoys watching Arsenal.<\/p>\n<p><span>&#8220;People are very demanding of the media, supporters, everyone. I enjoy watching them. You really learn a lot from a lot of things,&#8221; he said. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>&#8220;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&#8217;t won the Premier League for 22 years. We can&#8217;t compete on that front. They have something that makes them unique.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>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&#8217;s match.<\/p>\n<p>But it&#8217;s worth remembering that Guardiola himself set up in much the same way for a match at the Emirates Stadium earlier this season.<\/p>\n<p>What are your predictions for this big game? Let us know in the comments!<\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End -->\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pep Guardiola at Man City&#8217;s Carabao Cup final against Arsenal (Photo by Julian Finney\/Getty Images) Manager Josep Guardiola spoke ahead of Manchester City&#8217;s big game against Arsenal this weekend, but what can we learn from the Spanish tactician&#8217;s pre-match thoughts? Man City go into this game with a six-point lead at the top of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45965,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[40],"class_list":{"0":"post-45964","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-football"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45964\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}