Pep Guardiola Predicts Arsenal Will Remain Relentless Despite Villa Defeat

Pep Guardiola believes Arsenal will surrender very few points in the Premier League title race, even after their 2–1 loss to Aston Villa on Saturday evening.

Arsenal’s setback at Villa Park has reduced their advantage at the top of the table to just two points, with Manchester City tightening the gap following a comfortable 3–0 victory over Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium. The defeat was only the Gunners’ second in the league this season and brought their impressive 18-match unbeaten run to an end.

Guardiola: “Arsenal won’t drop many more points”

Speaking after City’s win, Guardiola stressed that his team must find greater consistency if they are to keep pace with Mikel Arteta’s side. He also made it clear that he does not expect Arsenal to falter often.

“It’s always better to be close to the top than far away,”
Guardiola said.

“But from my experience — and I don’t want this to sound arrogant — winning Premier League titles is all about consistency.”

He emphasised that true consistency comes from performance levels, not short-term swings in league position:

“Consistency comes from the way you play, not whether you are two points behind or four points ahead. It’s about how much you grow and how you perform throughout the season.”

The City manager highlighted that his side produced one of their finest displays of the campaign:

“Today was maybe one of our best performances over the full 95 minutes. We’ve had many good spells this season, but too often we’ve been unable to sustain them for a full match.”

City must “win and win again” to challenge Arsenal

Guardiola made it clear that Arsenal’s level this season leaves no margin for error:

“In the Premier League, I have the feeling that Arsenal — even though they dropped points today — won’t drop many, many more.”

He warned that City must maintain a relentless winning rhythm:

“If you want to stay in the race, you have to win matches again and again. And that comes from performance, not luck or a fortunate moment.”