Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said his team must be "almost perfect" if they are to catch Premier League leaders Arsenal. If the "citizens" manage to win against Chelsea the next day, the difference between them and Arsenal in the standings will be only 5 points. This after Mikel Arteta's men drew goalless in their challenge against Newcastle.
Guardiola said:
"They (Arsenal) will collect 100 or more points if they continue to play as they have been playing so far. If they continue like this, we won't be able to catch them. We have to be almost perfect I would say, between now and the end of the season, and hopefully they will lose a bit in their performance because yesterday against Newcastle they were excellent. We'll see what happens."
The Spanish coach added:
"It will be a difficult match against a strong, well-managed team. Stamford Bridge, what can I say… It doesn't matter what position you are in the standings when you travel there, it's always difficult. But at the same time, we are welcoming this week and next week, for the various competitions, and especially the Premier League."
This month, Pep Guardiola's side will face Southampton in a valuable Carabao Cup challenge, as well as United and Tottenham in the Championship. These challenges will be quite important in terms of the race for the championship title, considering that City will also play 2 direct matches against Arsenal, the result of which is difficult to predict.
Guardiola meanwhile also announced that defender Ruben Dias will not be available for the challenge against Chelsea.
