And then there were two... but Pep insists nothing changes
LIVERPOOL’S defeat on the other side of Stanley Park last night surely means the title race has been whittled down to another head-to-head between Arsenal and Manchester City, who can move to within a point of the Gunners if they win the first of two games in hand at Brighton this evening.
Such is City’s air of inevitability, it has been easy to wonder if Arsenal’s season is already over, even as they sit four points clear at the top of the table, but the champions have not been wholly convincing of late, and were fortunate to scrape past Chelsea in last weekend’s FA Cup semi-final.
Pep Guardiola is not exactly getting his excuses ready, but reiterated his concerns about the strain on his squad yesterday, saying he is worried “they will fall down” at any moment.
“Not just in the legs, more they were tired [in the head],” said the City head coach. “These guys have three weeks off, one month [in the summer], not much rest to recover. People say, ‘Ah, I complain’, but I defend my players, I know what I’m talking about, much better than the people outside.
“Science says you need a certain time to recover, not just physically but mentally as well. And for many years we don’t give them that but still we are there [competing].
“That’s why I say I’m really impressed, but all the time I’m thinking, ‘They will fall down’.”
For Arsenal, the damage may already have been done by their home defeat by Aston Villa, but their gritty win at Wolves and Tuesday’s demolition of Chelsea suggests the Gunners are ready to push City far harder than they did last term.
A visit to the Amex Stadium to face Roberto De Zerbi’s unpredictable
Seagulls is one of City’s tougher games on paper — their penultimate fixture at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where they have never won in the League should probably give Arsenal the most hope — and Guardiola believes his side have to be perfect to retain the title and become the first English team to win four in a row.
“Yeah, absolutely. [Liverpool, Arsenal] have given us a chance by losing their games, but we knew what we had to do two weeks ago: win the games to have a chance in our hands to take the title,” he said. “Nothing has changed from what we should do before.”
City are set to be without leading scorer Erling Haaland again, although Guardiola hopes the Norwegian could be back for Sunday’s home game against Nottingham Forest.
England internationals Phil Foden (left) and John Stones are set to be available following their own fitness concerns.