Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said his side can ill afford a repeat of the “under-14s” defending that saw them thrashed 5-1 by Arsenal in February.
Guardiola’s men travel to the Emirates again on Sunday, already trailing the Gunners and defending champions Liverpool in the Premier League title race.
City lost two of their opening three games to Tottenham and Brighton, but have bounced back with comprehensive victories over Manchester United and in the Champions League over Napoli.
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The thrashing at the hands of his former protege, Mikel Arteta, was one of the low points in a miserable campaign for Guardiola.
City failed to win a trophy for the first time since 2017 and finished a distant third behind Liverpool and Arsenal.
“The game last season, we started like many times last season, like an under-14s team and gave away a thousand million goals,” said Guardiola when asked to reflect on his last visit to the Emirates.
“After we were, a lot of the time, pretty good considering how it was last season, but the last 15-20 minutes were a disaster.
“We forgot to do what we had do and it was easy for Arsenal. I want to compete to be a better team than we were last season.”
Both Liverpool and Arsenal massively outspent City in the transfer window in the battle for Premier League supremacy and Guardiola took the opportunity for a dig at those who claim his six titles since arriving in England are due to the budget at his disposal.
“The only thing I want to say to my friend Mikel Arteta is if he wins the title it will be just because he spent money, not because he worked hard or because of his players,” Guardiola said sarcastically.
“It’s like Liverpool, too. If Arne (Slot) wins it again, it will be because he spent a lot of money, right? Because it’s not just Man City that (spend), right?”
Arteta left behind working as Guardiola’s assistant in 2019 and has slowly built Arsenal back into a force capable of competing for major trophies.
But he has still just won one piece of silverware, the 2020 FA Cup, after finishing second in the Premier League for the past three seasons.
“He found the club in a (certain) way and step-by-step, window by window, Arsenal is getting better,” added Guardiola.
“Last season in Europe, they made an incredible step forward, and they are for me the most solid team. They don’t make mistakes in the back.”
City begins the weekend three points behind Arsenal and six adrift of leaders Liverpool.
The challenge facing Guardiola’s side is heightened by the fact that they played their Champions League opener 48 hours after Arsenal, who won 2-0 at Athletic Bilbao on Tuesday.
Guardiola refused to be drawn into the scheduling debate but conceded it could be difficult for Ballon d’Or winner Rodri to start three games in eight days on his return from a major knee injury.
“With him in the pitch we feel more comfortable, but, of course, after coming from a tough injury, you have to be alert, and we will decide on Sunday how he does feel.”
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