London: Manchester City kept the pressure on leaders Arsenal with a 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest on Sunday but manager Pep Guardiola said they still have a mountain to climb in their bid for a fourth straight Premier League crown.
Josko Gvardiol and Erling Haaland scored either side of halftime at the City Ground as Guardiola’s team moved on to 79 points from 34 games. Arsenal have 80 points from 35 games.
Asked about City’s chances of winning the Premier League, Guardiola told reporters: “It’s far away. Ask me this question when we are top of the league and (have) one game left.
“But with four games left it’s like (we have to) climb a big mountain. It’s in our hands ... We draw a game we are not going to win the Premier League.” While Arsenal’s title charge fizzled out in the last few weeks last season, Mikel Arteta’s side are not going away this year, showing grit to hold on for a 3-2 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Guardiola did not expect them to falter again.
“We prefer (if) they lose but we cannot control what they do. They make a good result and yeah, it’s four games left,” Guardiola said.
“I think (they’re) not going to lose any points and we know exactly what we have to do.” City next host Wolverhampton Wanderers in the league on Saturday.
Hold the nerve
Nathan Ake is confident City will hold their nerve to overhaul Arsenal in the tension-filled Premier League title race.
“For me it doesn’t matter really,” Ake said. “It’s in our hands so we’re not depending on what they do.
“That’s the difference from last year, we were still depending on what they were doing.
“This season it’s in our hands. The only thing we have to do is focus on the next one. It’s so close but it’s also so far away.
“It’s about what we do now. At the moment it’s going well but we know what we have to do in the end — win four games and we can be champions again.”
While Ake has his eyes on the prize, Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya has urged his team to stay focused on their own job and ignore City’s run-in.
City’s game in hand on Arsenal is at Tottenham on May 14, but Raya laughed off suggestions they would ask for a favour from their bitter local rivals.
“I don’t want to focus on that. I just want to focus on the team, on us, and focus on next Saturday against Bournemouth,” Raya said.
“We cannot focus on other teams because you lose your focus on yourself and you don’t start playing the same way.
“I like challenges and I don’t feel under pressure. It’s an opportunity to show what you are capable of. I’m really enjoying this challenge.”
Raya said becoming the first Arsenal side to win at Tottenham in two successive league seasons since the late 1980s underlined the hunger among Mikel Arteta’s squad to lift the club’s first title in 20 years.
“It is massive winning this game, especially as it’s the north London derby,” Raya said.
“You have to win away games to be able to push for the title and I think we are showing that.”
