WIN OR BUST FOR ROD
City have no margin for error in Treble pursuit
MAN CITY V ARSENAL 4.30PM TOM, SKY SPORTS
RODRI believes Manchester City cannot afford any slip-ups as they hunt down a repeat of last season’s Treble triumph.
City host title rivals Arsenal tomorrow, with midfielder Rodri claiming nothing but victory will do if Pep Guardiola’s champions are to win an unprecedented fourth straight Premier League crown.
The Gunners top the table on goal difference from Liverpool, with City a point behind, and Rodri knows there is no margin for error as the big prizes loom into view.
Rodri said: “We’re fighting for titles and in this league a draw is almost like a loss, due to how high the bar is.
“So we have to win practically every game and that starts against Arsenal. “It’s a very, very important match. It will be very important for the mental fight in the sense of if we’re able to beat them, it will be very important for our confidence. It’s not just this game that’s like a final, it’s all of them from now until the end of the season.
“Any game that you lose can practically leave you out of the running.
“That’s the level that this league demands from you – to reach between 90 and 100 points to be able to win the league.”
No English side has managed to win the title four seasons in a row, but Rodri claimed City’s know-how in such highpressure scenarios can give them the edge.
“Of course we have the experience from previous years in managing these situations of being in multiple competitions,” said Rodri.
“When you get into the dynamic of playing every three days at the highest level you enter this competitive rhythm which can help you reach a very high level.
“Every game until the end is going to be a final. We must win it and we must win it with our philosophy and our way that has been successful in the past few years.
“This is the moment to give everything. We have to play with confidence, like we have in the past few years, and be humble enough to run more than the opponent and do more than the opponent if we
want to win. We can use the experience we have in the past to try to fight again.”
City have another Treble in their sights and Rodri said the players are not daunted by the prospect of successfully defending all three trophies won under Guardiola, right, last season.
Rodri, who scored two penalties in Spain’s 3-3 draw with Brazil on Tuesday, said: “The target for us is to put ourselves into a position where we can fight until the end. This is something we’ve been working on and to arrive at this moment. Now is the moment that we have to do the last push. The goal is to fight for everything.
“To do that we’ll need our people with us – we’re very strong at home with our fans. We need to feel that heat that they bring. If we were able to show that we could win everything we won last season, then why can’t we do it again?
“The most important thing is that we’ve reached this part of the season still in three competitions, which is the position we wanted to be in.”