‘Smell Blood’—Pep Guardiola, Man City Players Disagree on Premier League Title Chances

Mikel Arteta had a firm response to talk of Arsenal’s wobbling title challenge.

Pep Guardiola (left) and Man City’s players were not singing from the same hymnsheet. | Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Marc Atkins/Getty Images

While Pep Guardiola warned the only impact Sunday’s Carabao Cup triumph over Arsenal would be potentially negative, Manchester City’s match-winner Nico O’Reilly claimed that he and his teammates now “smell blood” in the Premier League title race.

City withstood an early storm from the Gunners at Wembley Stadium before outwitting their top-flight rivals after the interval. Even Guardiola was shocked by how expertly his game plan was implemented, joking after the contest that he wouldn’t have bet £1 on the 2–0 win.

Despite his gushing praise for the performance, City’s manager was pessimistic about how this particular result would affect the ongoing title race with Arsenal. “I would like to have nine points in front of Arsenal,” Guardiola admitted, even questioning whether he would “change” the trophy for that lead which the Gunners currently hold.

“It will have no impact,” he insisted, “different competitions.”

If anything, Guardiola was wary of how Arsenal would respond to this setback. “They will be more concerned when they come to [the] Etihad,” he predicted, referencing the crunch league clash between the pair in Manchester on April 19.

Guardiola oddly argued that this cup win would help his side against Liverpool in the FA Cup quarterfinals—perhaps the fact that it’s two knockout competitions is enough for the feeling to transmit—but some of his players were far more confident about their Premier League challenge.

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City’s Stars Growing in Confidence

Nico O’Reilly. City born. pic.twitter.com/KknZXa1mY6

— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) March 22, 2026

O’Reilly was asked by the CBS Sports studio if he and his teammates could now smell blood in the hunt for the Premier League crown. “Yeah, 100%,” the makeshift left back quickly replied. “The blood never went—we’ve always smelt blood. We’re confident in ourselves, we know we can do it, they’ve got to come to our place which is a tough place to come to as everyone has seen this season. So we do smell blood and we’ve got to keep going.

“It does a lot for us [winning the final], builds momentum and just push on now. Obviously it’s a big blow for them. They were going for everything, just as we were [before defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League].”

Rodri was similarly upbeat when reflecting on the wider ramifications of Sunday’s victory. “A lot, a lot,” was his verdict on the match’s impact. “That’s why I say it’s a game not only for this title [Carabao Cup] but to show that we can beat them.

“There is still a lot to do,” Rodri acknowledged, “and it’s clear we didn’t want to go out of the Champions League, but we went out and now we have to take the positives, we have more time to prepare for the games. So that’s something to take into account—but we also have to celebrate this.

“The Real Madrid game was pretty tough [losing 5–1 on aggregate] but the team has recovered. We knew it was a very important game against Arsenal not only because of the title but also because we had to face the best team in the league.

“Now we need to rest, go back to the next round of internationals and come back with the optimism that we still have two more competitions to fight for.”

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Mikel Arteta Vows to Harness ‘Fire in the Belly’

Mikel Arteta hopes to add to his trophy cabinet. | Visionhaus/Getty Images

Arsenal’s nine-point buffer is a matter of perspective. City still have a game in hand and can close the gap to just three points should they defeat the Gunners again at the Etihad in spring. Mikel Arteta, however, was in no mood to give up more than one title on Sunday.

“We’re going to use this disappointment and this fire in the belly to have the most amazing two months that we have ever [had] together,” he vowed in his postmatch press conference, radiating a sense of seething rage rather than any overtly defiant inspiration.

“That’s on us and we’ll manage that energy in the right way. Now we have to go through that pain and disappointment and it’s normal and it’s part of football.”

Arsenal have not had a lot of pain and disappointment to endure; Sunday’s setback was just their fourth defeat across all competitions this season. After each previous reverse, the Gunners have not only returned to winning ways but strung together a double-digit unbeaten run. They will need a similar burst of good form to banish the demons of a particularly chastening afternoon at Wembley.

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How Arsenal Have Responded to Defeats in 2025–26

Defeat	Reaction
1–0 vs. Liverpool (Aug. 31, 2025)	18 games unbeaten (W15 D3)
2–1 vs. Aston Villa (Dec. 6, 2025)	12 games unbeaten (W9 D3)
3–2 vs. Man Utd (Jan. 25, 2026)	14 games unbeaten (W11 D3)

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