One of City’s quintessential skills during Guardiola’s tenure as manager has been their ability to invest in the final stages of the season. City ended up with wet sails under Guardiola, winning six Premier League titles. As of now, Manchester City looks set to beat Arsenal in the race for the Premier League title this season. Pep Guardiola’s side have beaten Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea in their last three games and they appear to have hit the ground running with three dominant performances in those three games.
However, this is a new-look Manchester City team. Manchester City have several players who have been down this road before and know what it takes to win the Premier League. There are also many City players who are learning how to get things done during the break-in period. Guardiola pointed this out ahead of City’s match against Premier League leaders Arsenal. City’s performance at the Etihad Stadium today may provide clues as to how well City can handle the pressure during the run-in.
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Guardiola stressed that many of his players are learning how to perform in the title race.
Ahead of Manchester City’s Premier League clash with Arsenal, Guardiola explained that while most of his squad are inexperienced at this stage of the season, the way they have trained ahead of Manchester City’s clash with Arsenal has given him confidence. He explained on Friday: “I’m confident in the way we train and what the players believe we have to do. This is where confidence comes from. The last six Premier League games, that doesn’t give you confidence to win the next one because Ederson and [Ilkay] Gundo[gan]Kevin [De Bruyne]Kyle [Walker]Manu [Akanji] – A lot of players who created a lot of stuff are no longer here. Many are new. we will see. Cherki has never won the Premier League, so how would he fare in this position? Gigio [Donnarumma]kusa[nov] Never been here.“
“Nico [O’Reilly] This is the first time he’s really there, Antoine [Semenyo] Marc Guéhi arrived a month ago and a few weeks ago. There are a lot of players who are going to be playing and trying to win my first Premier League in my life.“
“How do we behave? I have no idea. My goal is ‘Guys, this is going to happen tomorrow and we’re going to try to make it happen. I try to convince them and say “let’s go”. That’s how the game has to be played. There are many things we cannot control.“
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Manchester City can prove today against Arsenal that they are ready for the challenge of the run-in.
Guardiola was right about Manchester City. Yes, there are many leaders at Manchester City who have been down this road before. The likes of Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Phil Foden and Erling Haaland all know what it takes to finally succeed in the Premier League title race. However, the likes of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Abdukodir Khusanov, Marc Guehi, Nico O’Reilly, Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo have never gone down this road before. They are experiencing the pressure of chasing the Premier League title for the first time.
Manchester City have looked good in their last three games. The team won their first trophy when they defeated Arsenal in the League Cup final. They withstood the pressure of big games and beat Liverpool and Chelsea effectively. Today they have another chance to excel in a top-flight Premier League match against Arsenal. We’ve seen Guardiola’s side dominate this type of competition over the past few seasons, especially against Arsenal. Today, a new group of Manchester City players are set to do the same. If they can beat Arsenal today it will put them in the title race this season and give them confidence for the season ahead.
Final thoughts.
Manchester City look to be in form this season. But, as Guardiola pointed out, this is a new City team. This is the first time most City players are experiencing a Premier League title race. For now, there are positive signs that they are handling the pressure well. Today’s game against Arsenal could provide another clue as to how far Guardiola’s new side can go. That answer will probably be in front of everyone when the final whistle blows at the Etihad Stadium.
