Pep Talk: “Every game we play to achieve something,”

Pep Guardiola is happy and confident in his team. This big 6 clash will also be teacher v student as Pep Guardiola faces former assistant and Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta.

In today’s press conference he tackled injuries, titles, the Arsenal match and hius relationship with Arteta.

Let’s dive in-

“Gundo played just part of today’s session,” he said at his pre-match press conference.

“We will see tomorrow how he feels.”

“Nathan has come back to training on the pitch. Alone still, but he is closer to coming back with us,” added the City boss.

“The rest are fit.”

“They will be fired up, physically ready and ready to compete with the best performance Arsenal can,” he explained.

“We know better than other teams in recent years perfectly how the schedule is. They will be on top.”

“Every game we play to achieve something,” he said.

“If we want to be closer and arrive with a chance of winning the Premier League, we have to continue.

“How many points do we have as an advantage over Leicester and United? 10 points. How many points to play for? 42!

“When this happens, many things can happen.

“I am going to explain you something. 10 days ago we played at Anfield. We were seven points in front. Losing we would have been four. 10 days later we are 16 points in front of Liverpool.

“That means in just 10 days absolutely everything can change. We could have been four, but we have 16.

“The best thing is to focus on the next game, don’t listen much to what people have to say about the team.

“Of course, we are so proud of what we have done so far but we are in February. Springtime is not here - and you win titles in the summertime.

“Still we have a lot of games, a lot of tough moments to fight and a lot of good moments to enjoy.”

“I didn’t inspire him. What he knows he knows of himself. I am not any influence. What he is doing is credit to him and his backroom staff.”

“What I have seen in the last few months, every game Arsenal play they are better than their opponents,” added Pep.

“Sometimes you don’t win, you can’t control [that]. But what he is doing and the games in the last months, always they are better than the opponent.

“They control games, create chances and concede few. They have an exceptional build-up. They have incredible energy and they have quality in the middle to make the process well.

“They will be a real contender to fight for titles in the future.”

No surprise that Pep is complementary of Arteta despite his struggles at Arsenal. It should be a great match and most players are at or near full health which is fantastic news. A great match is in store!