Guardiola fires back at Chelsea, Arsenal and other EPL clubs on their claims
Pep Guardiola fires back at Chelsea, Arsenal and other EPL clubs on their claims
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola appears to have fired shots at Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool when making a claim over expectations at his current club. The Spaniard has been under slight pressure following a spell of games that have seen him go four Premier League games without a win.
That run could be extended to five on Sunday as City prepare to face off with a Luton Town team that have caused problems for both Liverpool and Arsenal this season. At this stage, the current champions sit fourth in the league, behind their rivals that now include Aston Villa.
It has seen Guardiola start to hit out at pundits when it comes to winning a title as he claimed last week: “He knows how difficult it is. Otherwise, Gary Neville would’ve won four Premier Leagues [in a row] in the best period of Manchester United. But he didn’t do it, you know?
“Jamie Carragher didn’t win one once. Micah Richards didn’t win four Premier Leagues in a row. Never, ever. It’s never happened. There is more chance of if it not happening than happening. Just one Treble before us. It’s so difficult to do it again and again. We don’t have what others have, who haven’t done it for many, many years.”
That outburst caught the attention of many, with the manager looking to start a run of wins that will propel them towards another title. It remains to be seen whether he can do that, but it appears as though he has clear frustrations surrounding the expectations placed on his team.
Speaking ahead of City’s clash with Luton, he said: “The only team who’s going to fail if they don’t win Premier League title is Man City. The rest? It’s a big success”. At the end… Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, they don’t win everything: ‘It’s normal, City should win’. Difficult to handle that over years…”
It’s clear that weight of expectation weighs heavy, especially in a season where everything isn’t quite going to plan for City compared to usual. For Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea, the argument may be their inability to compete on the same financial footing as their rivals, which results in that expectation.
How that mindset could impact the current champions remains to be seen, but there may be some big games ahead in their hopes of getting back on track.