Pep Guardiola has insisted he is not distracted by Arsenal’s recent slip-ups, saying he “couldn’t care less” about the Premier League table despite Manchester City’s renewed title hopes.
City appeared to be losing ground in the title race after a patchy run of form allowed Arsenal to move into a strong position at the top. However, draws against Wolves and Brentford have dented the Gunners’ momentum, handing second-placed City a fresh opportunity.
Guardiola’s side now sit five points behind Arsenal with a game in hand, and they are set to host Mikel Arteta’s team in April. If City win their remaining 12 fixtures, they would secure a fifth league title in six seasons.
Still, Guardiola remains focused solely on the immediate task — Saturday’s clash with Newcastle. A victory would cut Arsenal’s lead to two points ahead of the Gunners’ north London derby against Tottenham on Sunday.
“I didn’t talk about the table or our position or anything like that. I couldn’t care less,” Guardiola told reporters on Friday. “I haven’t spoken about it for one second. Just Newcastle, Newcastle, Newcastle.
“If you ask me this question with two or three games left, I will answer. With 12 games to go, it’s an eternity.”
Having guided City to six league titles in a decade, Guardiola expects more twists before the season concludes. He has previously seen Arsenal surrender commanding leads in the 2023 and 2024 title races, allowing City to overtake them.
“A lot of things will happen before the end of the season. For now, it’s Newcastle, then rest, then Leeds. It’s always been like that,” he said.
“Seventy per cent of our players are new, so they haven’t experienced situations like this. The experience is to win the next game — that’s the only one that matters.
“Arsenal were nine points ahead when we had a game in hand. When everyone has played the same number of matches, then we’ll see the difference. I understand you want to anticipate what might happen, but that doesn’t count. It’s Newcastle, that’s all.”
Meanwhile, Guardiola said racism remains a broader societal issue, not just a football problem. His comments followed an incident in the Champions League in which Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior alleged he was racially abused by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni. The match was briefly halted in accordance with UEFA protocols.
“There is still a lot of work to do. Racism exists in society, not only in football. It’s everywhere,” Guardiola said.
“You think racism is only about skin colour? The way you behave can be racism. It’s when you believe you are better than someone else for whatever reason.”