21 January 2023 , 22:30
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Pep Guardiola has no regrets about giving Arsenal a potential helping hand to their first Premier League title in 19 years.
The Manchester City boss sold Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to the Gunners in the summer – handing former right-hand man and Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta a huge bonus. Both stars have title-winning know-how after four Premier League crowns at City and the duo are putting that experience to good use at Arsenal.
When Guardiola gave the green light for Brazil striker Jesus and Ukraine left-back Zinchenko to leave the Etihad for the Emirates in a combined deal worth £75million few would have predicted Arsenal being title front-runners.
But, despite defending champions City trailing Arsenal by five points, having also played a game more, Guardiola admitted he had to let the duo go – because they wanted a fresh challenge.
“No I don’t regret it,” said Guardiola. "I always say if you want to stay or you want to leave, then OK. I wish the best for Gabriel and Oleks, both are fantastic people.
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“They helped us a lot, but it is not about that. It was their choice, absolutely. I never forced one player to leave, it is them, the club, decisions.
“Of course, Erling Haaland came and Julian Alvarez, too, so, for Gabriel, it was difficult. But it happens. It was a good deal. Honestly, we are not in this position because we don’t have Oleks, Gabriel or the other ones. My argument is beyond this.”
Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko were title winners at Man City last season (Getty Images)If City beat Wolves today, they could be just two points behind Arsenal when the Gunners host a resurgent Manchester United. But Guardiola claims he has no interest in supporting his crosstown rivals in the hope they can beat Arteta’s stars, even for just 90 minutes.
The animated Spaniard launched an astonishing rant about his stars and the whole club lacking fire, hunger and desire after coming from 2-0 down to beat Tottenham 4-2.
And he reckons, even if United did beat Arsenal today, City’s own current problems mean it would not make a difference if his stars do not wake up.
“It is not about that. If they lose against United, it doesn’t matter. If we play like this, we are not going to catch them,” said the City boss. ‘“We have to change ourselves. If Arsenal continue, then congratulations. But it is not about three points against United.”
The former Man City duo have been key to Arsenal's assault on the Premier League summit (Getty Images)Despite winning four titles in five years, Guardiola dismissed the notion that City have an advantage in hunting down the Gunners. “No, that is the past. See what we have now and then Arsenal. They have everything, all the pieces,” he added.
“They defend with 10 players in the box, five in the back, six in the back, good transitions, they win duels, look how they celebrate a goal, how they talk. How they look at each other, communicate. This is football. We don’t have it.”
Guardiola is determined to shake his stars back to reality and claims the challenge of making them unbeatable again is why he signed a new deal. I won four La Liga titles in a row as a player and after I was not starving enough,” he said.
“Too much caviar! Madrid beat me. I understand the players, but I am here to turn this around. The chairman knows that. I want to be here, but if I lose the team, I cannot be here. Sorry for the haters, but we’ll be in the history books for what we have done in the Premier League.
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“It is undeniable how good we have been, but that is the past. The club have to move. We are second, not 25 points behind Arsenal, still 57 points to play.
“What I say is if we continue in this way, we have no chance. Our fans want the second half against Tottenham more often. That is what we have to do.”