Guardiola: 'Man City is in a dream position'

"The past few weeks have helped us, because of Arsenal's results and especially the victories of Man City," Guardiola said on February 17 in a press conference before the 24th round of the Premier League against Nottingham Forest. "We are in the position that I dreamed of at the beginning of the season. I didn't think that City would lead and be many points away from the opponent, with consecutive victories. It is unthinkable."

A 3-1 victory at the Emirates Stadium in midweek helped Man City catch up with Arsenal and return to the top of the table thanks to more than the difference. Satisfied with the win, but Guardiola insists Arsenal still have the advantage in the title race because they have played less than one game. "There are still 15 games to go, and we want to go to the last ten or eight games with the lead," he added.

Guardiola is aiming for a fifth Premier League title, after winning it in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022. When asked why he was "very good" at winning titles, the Spanish coach replied: "I don't. Maybe when you manage Barca, Bayern or Man City, you have more chances to win trophies. That's the obvious answer. These clubs have special players, members, assistants that help. helped me a lot."

After the win over Arsenal, Guardiola admitted that starting Bernardo Silva at left-back was a "terrible decision". When asked again about these statements, the 52-year-old coach said: "I want to talk about the way the game is visualized, it doesn't work, not because Silva plays at left-back. He plays at full-back and will come in. I'm more aggressive in duels than Fabian Delph or Oleksandr Zinchenko. If the decision works, people will say I'm brave. Otherwise, they'll say I'm overthinking and arrogant."

He also cited Kevin de Bruyne as a substitute for many games after the 2022 World Cup: "They will wonder why I change tactics and don't use De Bruyne all the time? Because De Bruyne can't play all the matches. . He needs freshness, to get the message that he can do better."

With 26 goals, Erling Haaland became Man City's player with the most goals in a Premier League season, equal to Sergio Aguero for the whole 2014-2015 season. Guardiola praised the professional student, possessing an experienced record and disagreed with Jamie Carragher's comment when he said that the Norwegian striker was not suitable for Man City's style of play. Guardiola also appreciated Haaland's choice to join Man City in the summer of 2022, instead of staying at Dortmund, moving to Real, Barca or another British club.

Guardiola also praised the "ambition and aggressiveness" of Jack Grealish - who has two goals and three assists in nine games after the 2022 World Cup - and confirmed centre-back John Stones could not play today.

On February 22, Man City marched to Leipzig's field to play the first leg of the 1/8 Champions League round, then as a guest of Bournemouth in the 25th round of the English Premier League on February 25.