Man City boss Guardiola breaks rank with stern warning to Liverpool and Arsenal
City have now dropped points in three successive league games after conceding a 90th-minute equaliser against Spurs on Sunday.
Liverpool also drew at the Etihad Stadium last month, while Chelsea and the Sky Blues could not be split in a gripping eight-goal thriller before the international break.
The results have left City three points behind table-toppers Arsenal and one point behind Liverpool. But Guardiola is confident that if his side can replicate their displays since domestic action resumed last month, another league triumph should be within reach.
“My feeling today is we’re going to win the Premier League,” he said. “If we play at the levels that we showed against Liverpool and Tottenham, we’re going to do it again. I know it won’t be easy.”
Arsenal pushed City to the limit in last campaign’s title race, leading for much of the season before falling away to second place. Gunners boss Mikel Arteta’s history at the Etihad, having served as Guardiola’s assistant, adds an extra layer of intrigue to the battle.
“We will assess Jeremy Doku in training this afternoon. John Stones is ready, he was ready on Sunday. He is capable of playing as a holding midfielder from the start and not just as a centre-back who moves into midfield.
“I never used what happened on Sunday [against Spurs] to motivate my players. We just have to do better. Of course I’m concerned about conceding goals but I believe we are at least as high in performance as last season when we won the treble.”
