Pep Guardiola Reveals Why the Premier League Is 'Tougher' Than Other Top Divisions
Pep Guardiola has offered his verdict on why the Premier League is harder to compete in than any other big European league.
The Manchester City boss had plied his trade in La Liga and the Bundesliga, with Barcelona and Bayern Munich respectively, before he headed to England's shores in the summer of 2016.
A third-placed leagued finish was the best his team could muster last term as Guardiola tried to get to grips with English top flight football, and he told Sky Sports why he struggled at times to deal with the frenetic nature of the game in the UK.
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He admitted: "When people ask me what is different about the Premier League, it is because we have a lot of those [big] games. There are usually five or six contenders to win the Premier League so you have many.
"Maybe you get three or four games against big teams in the Champions League and then you have to go away to West Brom which is always complicated so that's why it is a tough league. The level of the teams is so high.
"Arsenal can play if you let them play and they play as a counter-attacking team. When they have the players like they do, you have respect and then you play the game and you're asked 'who's the best?' We will try but of course, it is a tough, tough team."
In contrast to 2016/17, City currently sit first in the standings after 10 games so far this season, and have been praised for their clinical attacking threat undder Guardiola.
The league leaders play Arsenal in a crucial Sunday contest before November's international break and Guardiola added he felt "lucky" to have been given time to implement his philosophy at the Etihad by the club's Qatari owners.
He said: "The people expect that when a new manager comes it, that it can instantly work and sometimes people forget that you need time to settle something.
"Get the players to know each other, to trust each other, to know everything about the Premier League - the opponents, the style of play, the referees - and it doesn't matter how much success you had in the past or not, you need time sometimes.
"Fortunately, I am a lucky guy and I have a club where they give me time to do that, so I don't have the feeling that they don't trust me and that is fascinating. That's why I'm so happy to be here."
