Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has claimed that Arsenal remain the “best team in Europe” despite their recent stumble in the Premier League title race.
Speaking after City’s clinical 3-0 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, Guardiola was quick to talk up Mikel Arteta’s side ahead of their massive head-to-head meeting next Sunday.
The Spaniard insisted that despite Arsenal losing three of their last four matches, their overall body of work this season sets the standard.
Arteta described Arsenal’s shock defeat against Bournemouth as a “punch in the face” – and City capitalised by taking their chance to make up ground.
“The best team in England so far is Arsenal. The best team in Europe so far is Arsenal because the numbers are there and the consistency they had,” Guardiola said at his post-match press conference after the Chelsea game.
“Respect the incredible team that created Arsenal in the last two or three years. Football is like that—you are able to have 49 games and lose three games in the last four. They lost three games, so tell me a reason why? But this is this business.”
The City boss believes that his team’s recent Carabao Cup final victory over the Gunners has given his players the belief that they can go toe-to-toe with the league leaders again.
“Win helps to win the Carabao Cup against the best team so far,” he added. “Of course it helps to prove ourselves. That game helped us, not just for the title, but to prove to ourselves ‘okay, we can compete against them’.
“We have the definitive match ball next Sunday and we must prepare well this week. I know perfectly the manager, I know how good he is at adjusting things, and I know how tough it is.
“To win against Arsenal once is so difficult—imagine twice in three weeks.”