Pep Guardiola issues Arsenal verdict and makes title race admission

Pep Guardiola has been speaking about Manchester City's title hopes ahead of Sunday's crunch clash with Arsenal. City head into Sunday's clash just one point behind the Gunners, and the fixture could be a defining clash in the title race with Liverpool looking to take full advantage elsewhere.

Slip-ups from this point on will be costly, and a slip-up against a title rival will be doubly so. That's something Guardiola's men will be desperate to avoid as they look to ramp up their title defence down the final stretch. Just 10 games remain at this point and there are no more interruptions, with the final international break now in the books.

As Guardiola reflects on where his side have made it to at this stage of the season, he is full of positivity. “It's good to be here," he said in his pre-match press conference. "This season we have been really good. After what happened last season, to be in contention for the three most important titles of the season is so important.

“It's 10 games left in the Premier League and, right now every game is important. We played really good the last month, but the international break, the first game after is always - you think 'what will happen?'. Yesterday we trained well, we have two more training sessions and we will be ready for it again. He's playing incredibly well. I think he helped a lot. He played with confidence and took this step, became a captain at Arsenal and under Mikel he is a really important player."

Speaking about Arsenal and whether anything has changed since City's 4-1 win over the Gunners late last season, the City boss added: "Same manager, same players. They control many aspects of the game and every time they are better and better. When you have consistency in terms of ideas and the same manager, you always improve. If you change manager and players, it is more difficult.”