Pep Guardiola on Martin Odegaard's absence for Arsenal: “I am so sorry for him. Always I like to play against the biggest and toughest squad. Of course, he's an important player, but year by year as Arsenal get better, it's because they invest a lot in a deep squad.”
Pep Guardiola on Arsenal playing Thursday night in the UCL: “It's an advantage for Man City. But I'm going to make a list in the last eight years how many times we had this disadvantage against tough opponents, when we had less days of recovery. I have a HUGE list to show you!”
Pep Guardiola on Raheem Sterling to Arsenal: “I wish him all the best... We cannot understand the first years in my tenure at Man City without Raheem. He has been so important! I wish him all the best. Of course, I would prefer he doesn't perform well on Sunday.”
Pep Guardiola on Rodri's strike comments: “I agree with you, maybe for the first time, that many, many voices are talking about the players. I'm pretty sure that if something is going to change, always it must come from the players!”
Mikel Arteta: “We need to STOP @Erling_Haaland from scoring!” ⚽️🚫
Mikel Arteta: "When you see the stats and number of goals that @Erling_Haaland scores then you can tell he is one of the main sources. We always look at the individuals and the strengths that they have and how we can nullify that. We need to stop him from scoring..."
Mikel Arteta: "When you see the stats and number of goals that @Erling_Haaland scores then you can tell he is one of the main sources. We always look at the individuals and the strengths that they have and how we can nullify that. We need to stop him from scoring..."
Mikel Arteta on Kevin De Bruyne's potential absence for Man City vs. Arsenal: “They have the option of Gundogan, Bernardo, Phil Foden, Kovacic. All world-class. We have a few missing as well, we have to adapt. Those kinds of teams don't rely on one individual.”
Man City are considered favorites for victory against Arsenal on Sunday, winning in 52% of the Opta supercomputer’s pre-match simulations. 🔵
Pep Guardiola on Rico Lewis: “He can play every position. He’s so smart. Ask 20 players, ‘What is your position?’, ‘I play holding midfield’, ‘I play winger’ - Rico plays football. If you put him in one position, he knows exactly what he has to do. He’s so intelligent.
He’s playing because he’s playing really good. The game against Inter, the game against Chelsea, all the games he's played so far, always has been really, really, really good. So that’s why, honestly, I think he deserves the minutes that he has.
I would like to have him a little bit taller, but his mom and dad didn’t give him this attribute. But he solves it with other aspects; he always wants the ball, he’s so intelligent defensively, he’s aggressive one-against-one.”
He’s playing because he’s playing really good. The game against Inter, the game against Chelsea, all the games he's played so far, always has been really, really, really good. So that’s why, honestly, I think he deserves the minutes that he has.
I would like to have him a little bit taller, but his mom and dad didn’t give him this attribute. But he solves it with other aspects; he always wants the ball, he’s so intelligent defensively, he’s aggressive one-against-one.”
Pep Guardiola: “We're so pragmatic as a team, look at the results... We are the best team in the world being pragmatic, in the numbers. We won a lot, no? Because at the end, being pragmatic, what does it mean? It’s translated in results, right?
From the 0 to 95 minutes, the opponent has to defend in their box. This is what I want. Why? The ball is far away from Ederson, Stefan, Scotty, our keepers. When the ball is close to my goal, I am trembling.”
From the 0 to 95 minutes, the opponent has to defend in their box. This is what I want. Why? The ball is far away from Ederson, Stefan, Scotty, our keepers. When the ball is close to my goal, I am trembling.”