Guardiola Sends Message to Arsenal and Arteta As Premier League Title Race Heats Up

• Manchester City beat Arsenal 3-1 to move top of the Premier League table
• The Gunners have a game in hand and could move ahead of City if back to first if they win
• Pep Guardiola has now sent a title race message to his former assistant Mikel Arteta

Manchester City have won four of the last five Premier League titles, with Liverpool the only other team to win one over the previous five seasons.

The Citizens appeared to be losing ground on the league title after falling eight points behind Arsenal two weeks ago, but a winless three games have seen the Gunners drop below City on the league table.

The two teams clashed at the Emirates, and it was the master who prevailed over his apprentice, as goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland condemned Arsenal to their second defeat in three games.

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Guardiola sends message to Arsenal

The two teams may be levelled on points accumulated so far, Arteta's men have a game in hand, and Pep concedes it is an advantage. He made this known while speaking ahead of the game against Nottingham Forest, as quoted by Express.

''Arsenal still have one game in hand, so nothing changed much. If you are a lot of points or a lot of points back, it is a big difference. But we were tight, and it's forgotten, and we're just thinking about Nottingham Forest,'' he said.

Guardiola has beaten his former assistant in all seven league games since the two departed, as noted by SuperSport, but he does not stop praising him. This precedent has shown his words can not be trusted and should be taken as purely mind games by the Gunners camp.

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Arsenal will travel to the West Midlands to keep a date with Aston Villa, managed by former boss Unai Emery in Saturday's early kick-off at Villa Park.

How City almost lost to Arsenal

Sports Brief earlier reported that Guardiola claimed his tactics was horrible and almost cost his team victory at the Emirates Stadium before he adjusted it in the second half.

City lined out in an unfamiliar 3-4-2-1 formation from the start, utilising wingers Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva as wingbacks, allowing Arsenal to pick into pockets of spaces behind them.

This was evident in the gameplay as Arsenal enjoyed 64% of the possession and City with the remaining 36%, the lowest in any game managed by Guardiola throughout his 15 years career.