After Manchester City hammered Arsenal 4-1, Pep Guardiola evidently had a change of mind as he spoke post-match about how the result impacted the title race.<\/p>\n
Guardiola\u2019s latest mental perspective has shifted from one of caution to one of positivity denoting more confidence after his side showed their superiority on the pitch to beat their biggest rivals for the Premier League title.<\/p>\n
The Blues\u2019 gaffer\u00a0had been playing the devil\u2019s advocate for months and insisting instead that he would rather be in Arsenal’s position given the latter\u2019s comfortable lead then at the top of the table, although the defending champions were beginning to close the gap on the leaders.<\/p>\n
Now the latest three points in their grasp are sufficient for the Cityzens\u2019 position to be altered positively even if his side still trail by two points as they still have two games in hand.<\/p>\n
“Absolutely my position now [is what I prefer],” he said. “It’s in our hands. I’d love to have six points from these two games [in hand], but we have to win them.<\/p>\n
“Until today, I prefer the position in the Premier League from Arsenal but now it is in our destiny.”<\/p>\n
Whilst earlier on they had trailed Arsenal by eight points at the beginning of April, City can now go top of the table should they win at Fulham on Sunday. Guardiola, being the prudent, cautious tactician he is known to be, is not getting ahead of himself but prefers instead to focus all on the two home games next week against West Ham and Leeds to ensure City’s momentum does not ease up at all.<\/p>\n
“I have the feeling the next three games will dictate a lot. We have Fulham, and what Marco Silva has done this season coming from the Championship has been amazing.<\/p>\n
“After, we have two games at home. I don’t want to anticipate because it’s not healthy but at home this season we feel comfortable with the crowd. I think the next three games will be really important but of course the most important thing is our destiny is in our hands.”<\/p>\n
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