The coach of Manchester City, Pep Guardiola, has stated that Arsenal will be one of the contenders for the title of champion in England this season. The teams will face each other on Sunday, in a match that could prove to be quite important in terms of the race for the first place in the Premier League.
Manchester City were defeated by Wolves in the last match in the championship, but are currently 1 point ahead of Arsenal in the overall standings. Guardiola commented:
"They (Arseal) were our biggest rivals last season, and they will be there again for a long time. They are favorites again, along with Liverpool. To analyze the favorite teams you can see the first 10 matches. Big teams are always contenders for the championship title."
The Spanish technician added:
"Arsenal is back. When I was still a young boy and had just started my career as a coach at Barcelona, I remember that they rivaled Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson. Then for many years they were not at that level, but now they are back. When you look at the calendar and see you're going to the Emirates, you know it's a tough game."
However, despite Guardiola's praise of the London rivals, Arsenal have been defeated in the last 12 matches in the championship against the "citizens". However, Arteta's men beat City in the Community Shield final on penalties.
Meanwhile, Arteta has also commented on the confrontation with City:
"The only thing I'm worried about is the quality of the opponents. On Sunday we have to be at our best for 100 minutes. That's what we need to control and that's where we need to focus. In these big matches, you need big players who make the difference."
