"But before, they were not there" - Guardiola snubs Arsenal as he names his biggest rivals in England
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has named Liverpool as his side's biggest English rivals, snubbing last season's title race rivals Arsenal.
While acknowledging the Gunners' presence in the Premier League since last season, the Spaniard insists that the Reds will always remain his biggest rivals in England.
Guardiola said in a recent interview with Sky Sports:
"When I finish my career in England, Liverpool will have been my rival, our rival. Always."
When asked where Arsenal fit in the rankings, the former Barcelona boss added:
"Now, they'll start to be there, and last season. But before, they were not there, to win FA Cups, the title. They did not play in the Champions League. It's the first season they're playing now in many, many years."
"So the [main] rivals have been Liverpool. But now, they (Arsenal) have knocked on the door and they are here and they arrived to stay, and Newcastle, and other teams."
The Gunners had an exceptional 2022-23 Premier League campaign, certainly their best in a long time. The north London outfit sat atop of the league for the majority of the season, strongly rivaling the English champions.
However, Manchester City came out on top in the final stretch of the term when Arsenal suffered a string of losses, retaining their crown.
The Gunners emerged as fresh title contenders and a transformed side under Mikel Arteta's management. It remains to be seen whether Arsenal can end their two-decade-long wait for a league title this season.
"Absolutely brilliant for us today" - Ian Wright hails Arsenal star's performance in Man City win
Arsenal icon Ian Wright has heaped praise on Kai Havertz for his performance against Manchester City. The Gunners secured a 1-0 win over the Cityzens in their league encounter at the Emirates over the weekend thanks to Gabriel Martinelli's second-half strike.
Havertz did not feature in the lineup and made a brief 15-minute appearance. Wright has lauded the German international for his performance coming off the bench.
The Englishman even partially credited the Gunners' winning goal to the former Bayer Leverkusen star. He said on his podcast (as quoted by Football.london):
"You know what, if he [Havertz] doesn’t go in there to lay it back down, we may not get that [goal]. Because some of the times, Eddie [Nketiah] like I said, he did a lot of work today, made so many runs. But there’s times when you look in the build-up when he’s either too far on the left if it’s on the right, or too far on the right if it’s on the left."
He added:
"And you just need that body, that focal point in the middle, that Thomas Partey can chip it in to, who can make sure that he chests it down to hold it and lay it back off. And I think that Kai Havertz coming on and doing that was absolutely brilliant for us today.”
Havertz has come under criticism for his performances following his £60 million summer move to the Emirates from Chelsea. The German forward has scored only once in eight Premier League appearances for Arsenal this season.