Pep Guardiola believes his Manchester City players are ready to take the chance to deliver a historic treble of Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League. The English champions sealed their third consecutive league title with three games to spare and will face Manchester United in the FA Cup final and Inter Milan in the Champions League decider next month.
Only United’s class of 1998/99 have ever previously won the treble in English football. “Everybody knows what position we are in. It comes once in a lifetime,” Guardiola said on Friday.
“Once we are there, first of all you have to relax and enjoy and do your best, but no one can be sure we will be in that position again. They are ready. I see many details – how they come up on days off to make treatments, how many hours they stay to make the treatments, how players are individually concerned maybe they cannot play the FA Cup final and Champions League final. When you see that you don’t have to tell anything and do anything.”
Guardiola’s scrupulous attention to detail is often hailed as a key to his success. But he said some time off after tomorrow’s final league game away to Brentford is the best preparation for two huge matches. “When I started, it was ‘I have to prepare the final. I have to make a lot of videos’. Now it’s completely the opposite,” said the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss, who has won 11 league titles in 14 seasons as a coach.
“We need to disconnect. Even our physios and doctors and cooks, they work incredibly hard in this period. They need to disconnect. Go with your families. If the sun is shining, play golf, do whatever you want and (have) quality (rest) to prepare for the finals. Arrive in the best conditions for the finals.”
Premier League title tilt
only getting harder for
Arsenal, says Arteta
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta warned his side will face even stiffer competition next season as they bid to win a first Premier League title since 2004. The Gunners topped the table for most of this season, but stumbled down the final stretch to allow Manchester City to retain their crown.
On top of the challenge of dethroning City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Saudi-backed Newcastle are aiming to come back stronger next season. “The competition is going to be even harder next season,” said Arteta. “In my opinion it’s been the hardest this season in 22 years that I’ve been in this league. “In order to (compete) we have a really promising plan. We have to reflect a little bit, take a step back, make sure this is the right one and go again with more determination and hunger in the tummies to do even better.”
Despite the disappointment of missing out on the title, Arteta is keen to give the Arsenal fans something to celebrate in their final game of the season against Wolves tomorrow. Rival fans have ridiculed the lack of atmosphere at the Emirates over many years but the enthusiasm generated by Arteta’s young side has brought the stadium to life this season.
Late winners at home to Bournemouth and Manchester United provoked wild scenes of celebration when it seemed a long wait to win the title may be coming to an end. “(We) received a lot of incredible energy they have given us throughout the season,” said Arteta. “We have to wrap it up in the best possible way. It’s been some journey, full of emotions.
“Looking with a bit of perspective, there’s a lot of things not only on the field that have happened at the club that deserve a lot of credit for a lot of people. We have to nail everything that we do, we have to seek excellence in everything that we touch.”
Klopp optimistic for
future despite Liverpool’s disappointing season
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says he has “lots of reasons” for optimism despite the crushing disappointment of missing out on Champions League qualification.
Manchester United’s 4-1 win against Chelsea on Thursday sealed their place in Europe’s elite club competition next season alongside champions Manchester City, Arsenal and Newcastle.
Writing on social media after United’s victory consigned Liverpool to Europa League football, forward Mohamed Salah said he was “devastated” and there was no excuse for not making the top four.
Klopp, whose team are guaranteed to finish fifth, said he had expected United and Newcastle to get the points they needed this week after Liverpool’s 1-1 draw against Aston Villa. It means Liverpool, who narrowly missed out on a historic quadruple last year, have failed to qualify for the competition after featuring for six straight seasons.
“For a long time it was clear this will not be a historically good season,” said Klopp. “I think I said everything about it, that we are absolutely not happy with it, that we made mistakes, that we couldn’t deliver, ultimately we weren’t consistent enough.”