Pep Guardiola does not feel any remorse about the fact that he gave Arsenal the opportunity to win the Premier League title for the first time in 19 years.
After selling Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to the Gunners in the summer, Pep Guardila gave his former right-hand man and current manager of Arsenal, Mikel Arteta, a significant financial windfall. Both stars won a combined four Premier League titles when playing for City, and now that they are playing for Arsenal, they are putting their title-winning expertise to good use.
Few would have guessed that Arsenal would be title front-runners when Pep Guardiola gave the go-ahead for Brazil striker Jesus and Ukraine left-back Zinchenko to depart the Etihad for the Emirates in a combined transaction for £75 million.
But despite the fact that defending champions Manchester City are five points behind Arsenal and have played one game more, manager Pep Guardiola said that he had no choice but to let the two players go because they wanted a new challenge.
“No I don’t regret it,” remarked Guardiola. “I usually tell them that whether you want to stay or if you want to leave, that’s fine. Both Gabriel and Oleks are wonderful guys, and I hope the best for both of them.”
“They were of great assistance to us, but that is not the point. Unquestionably, it was up to them to decide. I did not coerce any player into quitting; the decision was ultimately made by the club and the player.”
“Gabriel had to contend with the presence of Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez, which made the situation challenging for him. But it happens. It was a very reasonable price.”
“If I’m being completely honest, the reason we are not in this situation is because we do not have Oleks, Gabriel, or the other ones. My contention goes far further than this.”
In spite of the fact that City have won four titles in the past five years, Guardiola has dismissed the notion that they have an advantage over Arsenal in their pursuit of the Gunners. “No, you can’t go back there. Look at what we have available in the Arsenal currently. They have everything, each and every component,” he went on to say.
“They defend with 10 players in the box, five in the back, and six in the back. They have good transitions, they win duels. Watch how they celebrate a goal and listen to how they chat. The way in which they interact with one another through their gaze. This is the sport of football. It is not in our possession.”
Guardiola is resolute in his mission to bring his stars back down to earth, and he attributes his decision to accept a new contract to the challenge of restoring their invincible status. He remarked, “As a player, I won four consecutive La Liga titles in a succession, and after my playing career, I was not hungry enough.”
“There’s way too much caviar!” Madrid beat me. I have a firm grasp on the participants, but I came to turn this situation around. That is not a secret to the chairman. I would really like to be here, but if we end up losing the team, I won’t be able to. We apologize to those who don’t like us, but whatever we’ve accomplished in the Premier League will ensure our place in history.”
“It is indisputable how successful we have been in the past, but it is in the rearview mirror. The club will need to relocate. We are in second place; Arsenal is not 25 points ahead of us, and there are 57 points left to play for.”
“What I mean to say is that if we carry on in this manner, there is no hope for us. Our supporters have voiced their want to see more of the second half of matches versus Tottenham. That is the course of action that we must take.