Pep Guardiola humorously remarked that if Liverpool or Arsenal surpass Manchester City for the Premier League title this season, it would be solely due to their significant spending in the transfer market. This Sunday, City faces Arsenal in a crucial match between two strong title contenders. Both teams are trailing behind reigning champions Liverpool, who have started the season with four consecutive wins.
Arne Slot's Liverpool has invested over £400 million on players like Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, and Giovanni Leoni during the recent transfer window. Meanwhile, Arsenal strengthened their squad by signing Viktor Gyokeres, Eberechi Eze, Martin Zubimendi, Noni Madueke, Cristhian Mosquera, Christian
Norgaard, Kepa Arrizabalaga, and Piero Hincapie.
Guardiola addressed reporters on Friday about the criticism City has faced over its transfer activities. He suggested that Liverpool and Arsenal should receive similar scrutiny. Guardiola stated: "I want to say to my friend Mikel Arteta, if he wins the title, it will be just because he spent, not because he or his players worked a lot. It's like Liverpool. If Arne wins again, it will be because he spent a lot of money. Right? Because it's not just Man City where that happened, right? It's all of them. "
City has bounced back from consecutive defeats before the international break by defeating Manchester United 3-0 in the Premier League and Napoli 2-0 in the Champions League. However, they have lost their last two league visits to Arsenal. This marks as many losses as in their previous 14 visits combined (W7 D5 L2). Their current losing streak against Arsenal is their longest since April 2009.
A further loss could place City nine points behind in the title race. Yet Guardiola does not see Sunday's result as decisive for the season's outcome. He mentioned: "It's the fifth game. Come on. " He recalled advice from Brian Kidd about staying close to the top four until Boxing Day before considering title prospects.
Reflecting on past seasons where City was trailing Liverpool or Arsenal around December or January but eventually won the league reinforces his view. Guardiola emphasized: "We're not going to win the Premier League on Sunday. We're not going to lose the Premier League on Sunday. " His experience suggests patience and persistence are key throughout a long season.
