Pep Guardiola tells Arsenal that Man City defeated them ‘without being who we are’
Pep Guardiola informed Arsenal that his Manchester City team emerged victorious against them by not playing their usual style, and he commended his team for exhibiting determination.
Last week, Manchester City defeated Arsenal 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium, which temporarily propelled them ahead of their main contenders for the Premier League title, dealt a significant blow to Mikel Arteta’s team.
However, the title race underwent a new development on Saturday, as the Gunners triumphed over Aston Villa while City settled for a draw against Nottingham Forest.
Consequently, Arsenal now holds a two-point advantage over City at the top of the table, with an extra match to play. The Gunners are striving to win their first title since 2004.
Although Manchester City is set to play against RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Wednesday, Pep Guardiola chose to mention the team’s recent victory against Arsenal during his pre-match press conference.
“The team is there, I have the feeling,” Guardiola, who has led his team to four of the last five Premier League titles, said. “We won in London against Arsenal.
“Maybe we weren’t who we are but we competed really, really well. Without that it’s impossible to achieve that result.
Pep demonstrating Kevin De Bruyne's illness 😂 pic.twitter.com/uKFeE4eynH
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“The way we played that game we had something we normally had in the past like the resilience.
“The last game against Nottingham Forest was our highest standards, I loved the way we played. We didn’t win because it’s football.
“Sometimes it happens, I don’t have an answer on what happened for this type of situation.
“But today we trained and yeah, the team is there. That doesn’t mean we’re going to win or get results. But I have a good feeling. Honestly.”
Arsenal, who have not participated in the Champions League since the 2015-16 season, will not have a European match this week. This is because they finished first in their Europa League group, enabling them to skip an additional round of fixtures and proceed directly to the last 16 stage.
Pep Guardiola tells Arsenal that Man City defeated them ‘without being who we are’