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Pep Guardiola Fires Ominous Warning to Arsenal in Premier League Title Charge

Guardiola singled out one Man City player who would “absolutely” improve.

Grey Whitebloom

Pep Guardiola (right) is encouraged by Manchester City’s strong run of form.
Pep Guardiola (right) is encouraged by Manchester City’s strong run of form. / Visionhaus/Getty Images

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola warned that his title challengers “are getting better” and demonstrating traits which they showed in their triumphant Premier League campaigns of years gone by.

City withstood a strong start from Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon to ultimately ease to a 3–0 win at Selhurst Park. It represented a fifth straight victory for Guardiola’s side as they once again closed the gap behind league leaders Arsenal to just two points.

This is just the time of year when City mount one of their signature unbeaten runs, striking upon a formula of success which makes collecting points feel almost mechanical. Arsenal have been reeled in by Guardiola’s winning machine in two of the past three seasons and the Catalan coach is hopeful of history repeating itself.

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“I have the feeling that we are getting better,” Guardiola smiled after Saturday’s win. “You believe that the past was always perfect when you look back at all the titles and the 100 points. But for the amount of things we achieved, we had a lot of games like today and the resilience was part of that.”

After a 4–0 stroll against Wolverhampton Wanderers on the opening weekend of the campaign, City promptly lost their next two matches. After the struggles of the 2024–25 season, when Guardiola’s side finished a distant third behind Arsenal and champions Liverpool, many had written off the Sky Blues once again. But not their coach.

“Still, we are not top, but we are learning and after what happened we will be closer in the future,” Guardiola warned.

More to Come From Phil Foden

City’s recent charge has undoubtedly been underpinned by Erling Haaland’s insatiable appetite for goals. The Nordic force of nature scored twice once more against Palace, taking his league tally to a frankly ridiculous 17 after just 16 matches. However, Guardiola warned that there was plenty more to come from City’s second top scorer this term.

Phil Foden endured a staggering personal dip in form last term, toppling from the heights of being crowned Premier League Player of the Season to the international wilderness. As Guardiola was keen to point out, Foden’s decline was not in isolation. “The problem last season was not Phil; it was for everyone, me included,” he explained.

Foden has already matched his top-flight goal tally from last term in the current campaign, rattling a crisp drive from outside the box against Palace for his seventh Premier League strike. Nevertheless, Guardiola warned there was still room for improvement from his attacking midfielder.

“Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely [there is more to come from him],” the Catalan coach promised.

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“He will not improve his incredible quality, because he’s top, at the top. But understanding the game, the way you have certain moments, the way you have to play, and the way you have to accelerate, or sometimes decelerate the game.

“Just the timing, the tempo he will give it, of course, everyone has to improve, everyone.”

If City match Guardiola’s predicted upward trajectory and Arsenal fail to find a way out of their somewhat wobbling form, this campaign may very well continue to look more and more like the seasons of years gone by.

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Grey Whitebloom
GREY WHITEBLOOM

Grey Whitebloom is a writer, reporter and editor for Sports Illustrated FC. Born and raised in London, he is an avid follower of German, Italian and Spanish top flight football.

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