“Not yet, I haven’t heard from him,” said Mikel Arteta when asked if Pep Guardiola had been in touch ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League clash with Liverpool on Wednesday night.
Arteta doesn’t need any words of advice, or any added pressure, from friend Guardiola. His Arsenal side are on a good run of five consecutive wins and will arrive against Liverpool in the best shape they’ve been all season.
They are yet to score against Liverpool in three meetings in the campaign so far, but Gunners fans (and City fans) can be quietly optimistic of Liverpool dropping points in the title race just two days after City did the same. Guardiola says he will be watching, as City take on a new role in the title race.
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Since overtaking Chelsea and Liverpool before Christmas, City have led the league with a relatively healthy lead. They have had the luxury that even if they slipped up, they would still be in pole position for the title. Now, after dropping five points in three games, Liverpool can close the gap to a point in what is their outstanding game in hand.
The title remains in City’s hands – but the same situation now applies to Liverpool, who travel to the Etihad next month in a game that looks likely to be decisive in who wins the title. City’s players and coaching staff have been open that they are closely following Liverpool’s results, however for the first time this season, City will be watching knowing that the result will have a direct implication on their own title chances.
Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta
So while Guardiola hasn’t reached out to his old assistant, he will hope for a similar Arsenal performance to the one that held City to the 93rd minute on New Year’s Day. Had Gabriel not picked up two yellow cards in as many minutes on the hour mark that day, City may have dropped points sooner than they did.
“I think we played against some top teams and we played against City not long ago and you know the problems that they put in,” Arteta said this week. “Every week is a test in the Premier League and a very different one, and the challenges that you face in those games are completely different, but tomorrow certainly is a team that dominates every aspect of the game, so when that happens you have to be at your best.
“You need that type of performance [vs City] and then you need a result. The reason why we didn’t get that result against City was because we didn’t dominate every single aspect of the game.
“The moment that you open the door, you know you will be punished. Tomorrow we are going to have to play at least at that level, or better and control every single scenario.”
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One key aspect of that control Arteta is looking for will be keeping cool heads. They had a player sent off in both Carabao Cup semi-final legs against Liverpool, as well as against City and Wolves to make it four sending-offs in 10 games in 2022.
Against City, Gabriel’s red card came immediately after Bernardo Silva won a controversial penalty for the Blues to equalise against the run of play. After that, there was only going to be one winner thanks to five minutes of ill-discipline.
Taking chances is another simple bit of advice Guardiola may have given Arteta, although that is stating the obvious to any football manager. Arsenal were brave and brilliant in that first half against City, but were punished for not making their dominance count for more goals. Liverpool, like City did, would not need a second invitation to punish them for wastefulness.
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Maybe Guardiola will give Arteta a call at full-time – especially if he can do City a favour and take points off Liverpool. Until then, all City can do is hope the Gunners have learned from their lessons in previous games to give themselves a boost for Champions League qualification and perhaps play a key role in the title race as well.
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