Premier League: Manchester City's championship ambitions will be over if they lose to Arsenal, says Guardiola

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Pep Guardiola said an Arsenal victory at Manchester City on Sunday would end the Premier League title race, but that his side would have a lot more work to do even if they beat the Gunners.

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Mikel Arteta’s men hold a six-point lead at the top of the table, but City have home advantage and a game in hand on the leaders.

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Should Guardiola’s side win the battle between the top two and at struggling Burnley on Wednesday, they would go top for the first time in months.

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Aiming to win a first league title in 22 years, Arsenal appear to have hit the wall in recent weeks.

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Defeat to City in the League Cup final last month has sparked a run of just one win in five games in all competitions.

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However, Guardiola is wary of the challenge facing his side in the coming weeks with tricky visits to Everton and Bournemouth in the run-in.

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“If we lose, yeah, it’s over,” said Guardiola at his pre-match press conference on Friday.

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“But the other two results, knowing that Arsenal didn’t win (against) Bournemouth, we still have games to play.

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“Six games are a lot, given our calendar (run-in), especially.”

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Arsenal have also faced the extra strain of edging past Sporting Lisbon to reach the Champions League semi-finals in midweek, while City have had seven days to prepare.

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Arteta hailed his players’ effort in becoming the only English side to make the final four despite a brutal schedule across four competitions.

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Guardiola insisted Arsenal have shown themselves to be the best team in England until now and warned his players about being “distracted” by the focus on the title race.

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“They have been the best so far, but we want to challenge them,” added Guardiola.

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“I said today to the players, ‘It is just a football game,’ and we have to approach it like a football game. If you get distracted by emotions, that is how you lose focus.

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“What is the target? It is to perform well, and that is exactly what you have to do in all the aspects required to challenge a team like Arsenal.”

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However, City striker Erling Haaland has described the clash as “like a final” for the title.

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“It’s a massive game without a doubt. We all know the importance of this game. It’s like a final,” Haaland told Sky Sports.

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“It’s probably the biggest and the best game there will be, so hopefully it can be an amazing game.

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“These are the games you want to play, and these are the moments you want to be in.”

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Guardiola confirmed that Nico O’Reilly, who scored both goals in the League Cup final, is fit despite coming off injured in last weekend’s 3-0 win at Chelsea.

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Captain Ruben Dias, though, remains sidelined.

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AFP

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