Manchester City closed the gap in the Premier League after a frantic win over Fulham, and Pep Guardiola used the moment to fire a fresh message toward Arsenal, the league’s provisional leader. With the margin down to two points, the Spanish manager reminded everyone that his team knows how to hunt from behind and that the title race is a marathon, not a sprint.

“The Premier League is very long”: Pep’s message to Arsenal

Following the 5-4 spectacle at Craven Cottage, Guardiola emphasized that his team is more than used to chasing.
“Arsenal are solid, they’re strong, but I know exactly what we need to do. If we slip up, it becomes difficult, but the Premier League is incredibly long,” he said.

Aware of the noise surrounding the table, Guardiola pointed to the club’s experience:
“We’ve won six Premier Leagues, and in four or five of them we were behind in December or January. The champion is the team that grows as the months go by.”

He also praised Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea, but insisted that the key lies in staying calm, managing emotions, and avoiding injuries in a season that offers no breathing room.

A midfield stretched to its limit

While Guardiola applies pressure to Arsenal through his words, he faces a far more serious issue inside the dressing room: City’s midfield is at a breaking point.

With Rodri out in recent weeks and Mateo Kovacic still far from returning, the manager was left with only Nico González as a natural holding midfielder. And when he substituted the Spaniard in the 64th minute to give him rest, the team nearly collapsed.

Fulham scored twice in fifteen minutes and came close to equalizing, which was avoided only thanks to a goal-line clearance from defender Josko Gvardiol. “We have a problem,” Guardiola admitted bluntly.
“We have three holding midfielders, but two have been injured for a long time. Rodri will be back soon, but Kovacic is still a while away.”

Facing this situation, Pep is already testing alternatives: O’Reilly as a pivot, Ait-Nouri or Aké as hybrid full-backs, or even Reijnders, though he sees him as more attack-minded. It’s an unexpected puzzle heading into a decisive phase.

A calendar that won’t forgive

City will host Sunderland this weekend before traveling to the Santiago Bernabéu to face Real Madrid in the Champions League. What happens in the coming days could define the immediate direction of their season.

Guardiola knows it, and even with injuries, he keeps the pressure firmly on Arsenal. The message is clear: City won’t let go of the title race. And if the Guardiola era has taught anything, it’s that when the sky blues accelerate, their rivals’ margin for error drops to zero.