Pep Guardiola tells Manchester City players not to let up after beating Arsenal with ‘amazing three goals’

City put three first-half goals past Arsenal and then saw out a win that leaves them secure in their position at the top of the Premier League

Pep Guardiola’s team are only five wins from the title (Getty)

Pep Guardiola has told his Manchester City players that they cannot afford to take their foot off the gas as they did against Arsenal, even after coasting to a 3-0 win at the Emirates.

City put three first-half goals past Arsenal and then saw out a win that leaves them secure in their position at the top of the Premier League, 16 points clear of Manchester United and just five wins away from regaining the league title. It could have been a triumphant press conference for Guardiola but when asked how impressed he was with his team’s performance, Guardiola said no.

Instead, Guardiola made clear how frustrated he was with his players’ drop of focus at the end of the first half and the start of the second. That was the spell, in the middle of the match, when Arsenal pushed back into the game and even earned a penalty, which fortunately for City Ederson saved. City recovered their footing to see out the win, but things could have gone differently for them.

“We made an amazing three goals,” Guardiola said afterwards. “But the last 10 minutes, it was the same minutes as the first 20 of the second half, it was really poor. It could happen if Ederson doesn’t save the penalty from Aubameyang the game could be completely open.”

Even before the penalty, Ederson had to make two saves from Granit Xhaka shots from distance as well as from Aaron Ramsey and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. As with the EFL Cup final on Sunday, City afforded Arsenal more openings and chances than they would have wanted. Guardiola was too polite to put it this way but the implication was clear: a better team than Arsenal would have punished City’s sloppiness out there. So when City are back in Manchester on Friday and Saturday, analysing the video of this game, that is the message Guardiola will give them.

“The most important thing is to be calm, analyse what we have done good and analyse for example the last 10 minutes of the first half, the first 20 minutes of the second half,” Guardiola said. “In the Champions League, for example, you would be in trouble. You have to try to play better in this kind of situations.”

The closer City move to confirming the Premier League title the more attention will turn towards the Champions League for City. But Guardiola clearly worries that against Barcelona, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, or even against England’s other top sides, his side is still not unbeatable.

Of course Guardiola is still sensitive to the fine margins that decide who wins the Champions League. His teams have been the best in Europe for almost his whole career and yet he only has two European Cups to show for it. His Barcelona side lost the 2010 and 2012 semi-finals to Internazionale and Chelsea by the finest margins. His Bayern side imploded in the 2014 semi, were done by Lionel Messi in the 2015 semi and then lost the 2016 semi to Atletico Madrid after one missed penalty and one fatal counter-attack.

To win the Champions League then, you have to be perfect, lucky or both, and Guardiola knows that his side are not there on the first count. Not quite yet. Which is why he still has to push them, even after a win as impressive as this.