Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, has brushed aside discussions about Arsenal’s recent stumble in the Premier League, insisting he “couldn’t care less” about their position in the title race and remains solely focused on his team’s next fixture.
Arsenal had recently established a comfortable lead at the summit of the table, threatening to blow City out of the race.
However, back-to-back damaging draws against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Brentford have handed the defending champions a crucial lifeline.
Second-placed City now sit just five points behind Mikel Arteta’s men, with a vital game in hand and a highly anticipated home clash against the Gunners scheduled for April.
Should City win their remaining 12 matches, they will successfully retain the title for the fifth time in the last six seasons.
Despite the swinging momentum, Guardiola is refusing to get carried away. Speaking to reporters on Friday, the Spanish tactician stated that his immediate attention is squarely on Saturday’s match against Newcastle United.
A victory for City would temporarily close the gap to just two points before Arsenal takes on Tottenham Hotspur in the North London derby on Sunday.
“I didn’t talk about the table, or our position or something like that. I could not care less,” Guardiola remarked. “I didn’t talk about that for one second. Just Newcastle, Newcastle, Newcastle.”
When pressed on the title race dynamics, Guardiola noted the unpredictability of the remaining stretch: “If you ask me this question with two or three games left, I will have your answer. It’s 12 games left, it’s an eternity.”
Having secured six league titles in his decade at the Etihad, Guardiola is no stranger to the late-season pressure, and he notably watched Arsenal surrender substantial leads to City during both the 2023 and 2024 campaigns.
“Arsenal were nine points (ahead) when we had a game in hand, so whenever everybody is on the same games played then after that we will see the difference,” Guardiola added. “I understand you want to anticipate what is going to happen. That doesn’t count. It is Newcastle, that is all.”
Guardiola Weighs in on Racism in Football
Beyond the title race, Guardiola addressed the ongoing issue of racism in football, following recent allegations made by Real Madrid star Vinícius Júnior. During a Champions League match earlier this week, Vinícius alleged he was racially abused by Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni after celebrating a goal, leading to a temporary pause in the game.
Guardiola emphasized that racism remains a deep-rooted societal issue rather than an isolated football problem.
“There is a lot of work still to do. It is in the society, it is not just in football. Racism is everywhere,” Guardiola said. “You pretend that racism is just for the colour of the skin? How you behave is racism. It’s how you pretend you are better than the other one just for many reasons.”
