Pep Guardiola Is Nervous Manchester City Is Increasingly Threatening Arsenal: This Is A Good Sign

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola. (Photo: Twitter @ManCity)

JAKARTA - The big match will be presented in the English Premier League, Wednesday, April 26, or Thursday morning WIB. Manchester City will face Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium.

The battle between the two teams is predicted to be fierce. The reason is, City and Arsenal are currently competing in the hunt for the English Premier League champions.

Currently Arsenal are still leading the standings with 75 points. However, the Gunners are only five points ahead of City who are stalking in second place.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola admitted that he was filled with nervousness as his team threatened Arsenal's position in the title race this season.

Guardiola is eyeing his fifth Premier League title after seven seasons in Queen Elizabeth's country. He believes the nervousness is a sign that he is still hungry for more success.

"It's a good sign, a little nervous. Being nervous is part of our lives, being anxious is part of our lives, being afraid is part of our lives. We don't have to be perfect," said Guardiola.

"When we educate our children, they ( think) have to be perfect for Instagram and TikToks, and things like this, they have to be genius. But I'm going to say uncertainty, things that happened before the game, happened. When I feel that feeling, I know it's normal. The problem is if I don't have that feeling," he continued.

The betting market now champions City not only to defend their title, but also to match Manchester United's 1998/99 achievements as the only Premier League team to win the Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup in the same season.

However, Guardiola reminded his team that he predicted Arsenal would react after seeing their advantage eroded in recent weeks by a draw with Liverpool, West Ham and Southampton.

"I always feel that it will be very difficult to fight them at this stage, but after (Arsenal) lose points in three games now it will be much more difficult to face them," added Guardiola as reported by AFP, quoted by Antara.

"I'd rather if they came here with better results than the last three when they didn't win the game," he added.

Each team will lose their key defenders. City without Nathan Ake, while William Saliba's continued absence made Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta dizzy.

Without the Frenchman, Arsenal have conceded seven goals in their last three games and have to find a way to quell Erling Haaland, City's 48 goal scorer.

Arteta has encouraged his youth team to embrace the "extraordinary" opportunities they have to surprise the world of football by bounce back at the Etihad to maintain the chances of winning the title in their own hands with five games remaining.

"It's going to be a tough and challenging night, huh, but the chances are incredible for us. You want to win, you have to win this game, that's as simple as it is," said the Spanish manager.