Pep Guardiola sets Man City challenge after Arsenal victory

Pep Guardiola has warned Manchester City not to read too much into their newfound status as Premier League leaders, admitting the team “must be better” if they are to compete for major silverware this season.

Wednesday’s 3-1 victory over previous leaders Arsenal saw City climb up into first thanks to their superior goal difference, although the Gunners still have a game in hand and remain in the driver’s seat in the title race.

Instead of getting carried away at the top of the table, Guardiola challenged City to start putting together a win streak and create some much-needed momentum.

“Arsenal have one game in hand, nothing has changed much,” he said. “We’re just thinking about Nottingham Forest [on Saturday].

“Momentum is when you win ten games in a row. We haven’t done that this season. Three games ago, we lost at Tottenham. Momentum is tomorrow at three [o’clock], we have to be ready to play against a team who has lost just one in six, a big crowd, a respected manager. When [Steve Cooper] took over Nottingham, they were in a bad position, but now they have been promoted and are doing really well.”

The City boss continued: “We have been here for many years. It’s not necessary sometimes to tell [the players] how we’re doing, they know exactly who we are. They know they have to do better if they want to compete at the highest level this season. They talk to each other in the canteen and say they need to be better and it’s good because in the end, they play. They’re the artists who work on the pitch, I can’t be involved in that.

“Huge characters at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, they make steps forward and they play without fear when it’s a long time of winning titles. The quality… impossible to maintain it every week for six or seven years. In the NBA, the level is not the same. When you want to win a lot of titles, at the start of the season you think we have time, but in August or September, you can realise we are 20 points behind.

“Always, we’ve been close, except the year when Liverpool won the league, at the end we’ve always been close. We are lucky.

“Still 15 games left, a lot of games, but we want to arrive at the last eight or ten near the top of the league to make a last effort. We are in the position I would have dreamed at the start of the season. I could not expect to be many points ahead after two titles, it’s nearly impossible.”