Guardiola: Championship contest still ongoing, but Man City require Haaland’s scoring contributions.
LONDON — Pep Guardiola informed Arsenal that the Premier League title contest is “not finished” despite his Manchester City squad trailing the Gunners by nine points following a 1-1 draw against relegation-threatened West Ham.
Arsenal’s 2-0 victory over Everton at the Emirates earlier on Saturday had propelled Mikel Arteta’s side 10 points ahead of City at the top of the standings, although they have played two additional matches compared to Guardiola’s team.
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However, with City needing a win at the London Stadium to maintain pressure on Arsenal, they experienced a second consecutive league draw after their 2-2 deadlock at home against Nottingham Forest earlier this month.
City still possess a game in hand over Arsenal and are scheduled to face them at the Etihad next month, prompting Guardiola to assert that the title remains attainable.
“It’s not over,” Guardiola stated. “We didn’t lose. It’s not over. We will keep going.
“It’s very challenging, but we have a game in hand and this match at home against Arsenal. I’m not suggesting it will be easy to defeat them, but there is hope. Always, you must be present.
“I am unaware of how they [Arsenal] are performing as I haven’t watched their recent matches, but there are aspects I appreciate. It could be improved, but it is what it is.
“Nine points is significant against Arsenal, but we must strive until the end. When it becomes impossible, then we will congratulate the champion, but we must keep trying.”
City’s season is at risk of unraveling due to Arsenal’s increasing advantage and a 3-0 first-leg deficit in their Champions League round of 16 matchup against Real Madrid.
Guardiola noted that part of the issue stems from his team not capitalizing on enough opportunities, including striker Erling Haaland, who has scored only three goals in his last 12 league appearances.
“Erling understands we require his goals,” Guardiola remarked. “We also need to create more opportunities for him, but he had three to four good chances early in the first half and failed to convert.
“However, it’s not solely about him. It’s about all the players and the atmosphere they experience. But he will return. Erling will be back, and perhaps soon.
“We are an exceptional team. We play very well. The players keep pushing until we can no longer continue.
“We didn’t convert enough goals when we had the quality to do so, and they [West Ham] took advantage of that.”
“To win the Premier League, you must be more consistent. In the past, we had the consistency to win repeatedly, to always find a way. Historically, we always discovered a method to win these types of matches.
“This season, failing to score goals relative to the number of chances we’ve created has led to us being punished. We haven’t scored enough goals. This has occurred countless times for this team over the last decade, but this season we have struggled.
“Now we will rest and prepare for Madrid [second leg on Tuesday] and give our all.”
