Treble-chasing Manchester City can tick the first box by capturing their third consecutive Premier League title this weekend in what Pep Guardiola said was the most important and difficult of the three trophies to win. City can clinch the league without even kicking a ball if Arsenal lose at Nottingham Forest on Saturday and if not they can hoist the trophy by beating Chelsea on Sunday at the Etihad Stadium.
“The Premier League is the most important competition because it’s over 10, 11 months. We are lucky to be at home with our people to take it,” Guardiola said yesterday. “The last one is the most difficult, because there are a lot of emotions. We would not forgive ourselves if we became distracted.”
Guardiola likely will not watch Arsenal’s game. “I don’t think so,” he said. “We have a game the day after. In my mind, I would like to think we have to win that to be champions. Celebrating with our people in the stadium would be the best.”
It would be easy to be distracted after City destroyed European powerhouse Real Madrid 4-0 on Wednesday to win their Champions League semi-final 5-1 on aggregate. They have two more trophies to play for with the FA Cup final coming up versus Manchester United on June 3 and the Champions League final a week later in Istanbul. A triumph in the European showcase would be their first.
Asked if his team had calmed down since Wednesday, Guardiola said: “Calmed down? It’s non-stop, the most difficult thing (is coming). Tennis players say to serve to win Wimbledon is the most difficult one. On Sunday the game is in our hands.”
While City have won 11 consecutive Premier League games and are unbeaten at the Etihad Stadium in 19 straight stretching back to mid-November, Guardiola said the run of success comes from consistently rising to the occasion. He expects no different this weekend.
Guardiola was asked about a video that showed midfielder Kevin De Bruyne yelling “Shut up!” at him during Wednesday’s game. The manager walked back to City’s bench seemingly nonplussed after the exchange. “The action with Kevin I love it, we shout at each other. I like it. Sometimes it’s a little bit flat, I like this energy,” Guardiola said. “It’s not the first time, you don’t see, but he shouts at me in training. This is what we need. After that he becomes the best. (Ilkay Gundogan) lost the ball, Kevin too, we didn’t need that in the game... It’s football, we can do it. These things must happen to be competitive.”
City will close the league season with matches at Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday and Brentford on May 28. Arteta hits back at criticism of Arsenal’s title collapse
Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta insists Arsenal deserve respect for their unexpected Premier League title challenge despite the collapse that allowed Manchester City to move into pole position. It is a bitter pill to swallow for Arteta after his team led the title race for much of the season. The Gunners have endured criticism of their failure to hold off City, with last weekend’s dismal 3-0 defeat against Brighton sparking questions about the character of Arteta’s squad.
But, in a thinly-veiled dig at their detractors, Arsenal boss Arteta said his team had surpassed expectations by pushing treble-chasers City so hard.
“We have shown this season,” Arteta replied when asked if Arsenal can be title contenders again next season.
“We’re still there, with two games to go (City have three as they have a game in hand) we can still be champions against probably the best team in Premier League history. For 10 months we’re still there. There’s two games still to go and we’re not going to bottle that for sure.
“What happens next season will depend on what we do, how we evolve and how we start. That prediction is very difficult to do today.”
Arteta did concede improvements will need to be made to his young team before Arsenal can expect to hold their own in the Champions League next season. “At the level that we want? No. We didn’t have the capacity to do that as well with the Europa League so it’s part of that evolution,” he said.
Meanwhile, Arteta said discussions over the future of Granit Xhaka will wait until the end of the season. Xhaka is approaching the final 12 months of his contract and has been linked with a move to Bayer Leverkusen. The Switzerland midfielder played for four years with Borussia Monchengladbach before he moved to Arsenal in 2016.

Fixtures (1400 GMT
unless stated)
Today: Tottenham v Brentford (1130). Bournemouth v Man Utd. Fulham v Crystal Palace. Liverpool v Aston Villa. Wolves v Everton. Nottm Forest v Arsenal (1630)
Tomorrow: West Ham v Leeds (1230). Brighton v Southampton (1300). Manchester City v Chelsea (1500)
Monday: Newcastle v Leicester (1900)