Pep Guardiola issues warning to Man City players ahead of Arsenal title clash

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has stated the Premier League title race is “over” if the Blues fail to beat Arsenal on Sunday

Trailing Arsenal by six points, with a game in hand, City need to win to keep their Premier League title chase alive.

Despite Arsenal reaching the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday night, a recent stumble in form may have made City the slight favourites to get the win in front of a packed Etihad Stadium.

While Guardiola is someone who likes to remain mysterious in front of the media, he is aware of the magnitude, and consequences if City do not win this match.

‘If we lose, it’s over’

With such a high stakes game, many are referring to City-Arsenal as a ‘final’, and this notion was immediately put to Guardiola in his pre-match press conference.

For the Spaniard, he had a warning if City are unable to get the three points come the final whistle.

“If we lose, it’s over,” Guardiola said.

Then came the question of City’s role going into the match.

Arsenal may be top, but for the past couple of weeks, the Gunners have produced performances which are not apt of a Premier League champion in waiting.

Their underwhelming performances are feeding into the stands with fans becoming anxious and there was even a smattering of boos at the Emirates in last weekend’s 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth.

As the team chasing, and a mixed run of performances throughout the season, are City the underdogs?

Guardiola did not acknowledge the label, but he explained why his team cannot afford to let the carnival that will come this fixture distract them from the task at hand.

“We want to challenge them. I said to the players, it’s just a football game, so I have to approach it like a football game.

“It’s really important of course, you can’t get distracted by emotions, that’s how you lose focus.

“What is the target? To perform well, this is exactly what we have to do in all aspects to challenge teams like Arsenal.”

Can City replicate Arsenal Carabao Cup win performance?

This season’s Carabao Cup final between the two teams offered an early preview ahead of Sunday’s game.

After a cagey first half, City seized control, keeping the Gunners penned in and scoring two goals courtesy of Nico O’Reilly to lift the trophy.

For Guardiola, this win has no bearing. The unpredictable nature of football and the expected adjustments from Areta will, in his eyes, make the game a closer affair.

"If we play like the second-half [of the Carabao Cup final] for 95 minutes and they play like the second-half, we are going to win. Well, maybe not because football is unpredictable, but it will be closer. That is what we want.

"I know Mikel. They are going to adjust something and we have to prepare to do it.

“We respect them so much and the quality they have - I have no doubts about that, but it's about how we approach tactically and mentally. That is all I am concerned about."

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