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.
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.
Should Guardiola’s side win the battle between the top two and at struggling Burnley on Wednesday, they would go to the top for the first time in months. Aiming to win a first league title in 22 years, Arsenal appear to have hit the wall in recent weeks.
Defeat to City in the League Cup final last month has sparked a run of just one win in five games in all competitions.
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.
“If we lose, yeah, it’s over,” said Guardiola at his pre-match press conference on Friday.
“But the other two results, knowing that Arsenal didn’t win (against) Bournemouth, we still have games to play.
“Six games is 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. Arteta hailed his players’ effort in becoming the only English side to make the final four despite a brutal schedule across four competitions.
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.
“They have been the best so far, but we want to challenge them,” added Guardiola.
“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.
“What is the target? It is to perform well, and that is exactly what you have got to do in all the aspects required to challenge a team like Arsenal.”
However, City striker Erling Haaland has described the clash as “like a final” for the title.
“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.
“It’s probably the biggest and the best game there will be, so hopefully it can be an amazing game.
“These are the games you want to play, and these are the moments you want to be in.”
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.
Captain Ruben Dias, though, remains sidelined.
