Pep Guardiola feels his Manchester City side must be “almost perfect” between now and the end of the season in order to have any chance of beating Arsenal to the Premier League crown.
Champions City trail the Gunners by eight points at the top of the Premier League, preceding to playing their game in hand against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Thursday evening.
City had to settle for a point against struggling Everton in their last outing but Arsenal’s draw against Newcastle on Tuesday has offered a chance for them to cut the deficit.
Guardiola feels, however, his side have their work cut out to close the gap completely.
“The way they played against Newcastle again impressed me a lot,” Guardiola said. “They dropped two points but they didn’t drop the quality with which they played.”
“We have to be almost perfect, I would say, from here to the end of the season and hope they drop a little bit in their performance.”
“But, at the same time, I see the way we played the last games, and the feeling is good.”
“My target always as a manager is to try to be yourself and be better than the opponent, and after if you concede one shot and they score and we can’t score, you have to accept it and move forward.”
“What I want to see is us still fight, don’t give up, not now, until the last chance, until the last drop of water we can fight to win the Premier League, and the moment we are not able to win the Premier League we have to be ready to compete next season. This is when teams are really good.”
After taking the crown in four of the past five seasons, and with their financial strength, Guardiola admits his side faces certain pressures unknown to their peers.
He added: “The advantage of Arsenal and Manchester United right now is nobody has to win the Premier League for 20 points ahead in November like Manchester City has to – and this is sometimes a big problem.”
“People say, ‘Ah, yes, you are…’ Yes, we are, but with Arsenal winning all their games and you are seven or eight points behind… [Arsenal winning the title] can happen.”
