Pep Guardiola "would love to be in the position" of Arsenal in the Premier League title race, saying Manchester City's "experience counts for nothing" as they look to catch the Gunners.
City have won the Premier League in four of the last five seasons, but Mikel Arteta's Arsenal side have enjoyed a brilliant campaign to give them a great chance of winning their first league title since the 2003-04 'Invincibles' side.
The Citizens are playing catch-up with the Gunners holding an eight-point lead at the summit, and though City have a game in hand, Guardiola acknowledged his side's vast experience of winning titles may not be enough to overhaul the deficit.
"I would love to be in the position of Arsenal," Guardiola told reporters. "I'd prefer to be Arsenal in the Premier League than the position we have.
"Eight points is a real advantage. Experience counts for nothing. They will not drop many points.
"You have to prove it every day. The past is the past. [The] reality is people tomorrow don't think about what you've done in the past. You have to show it again and again otherwise you have to retire."
City return from the international break when they host Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, with the Reds sitting sixth after running Guardiola's men to within a point of the title last season.
Asked whether a collapse similar to the one Liverpool have suffered could have happened to City if he had left the Etihad, Guardiola insisted a drop-off of that magnitude could happen to any club.
"I never think this won't happen," Guardiola said. "Teams win the Premier League, year after they drop off. [It] can happen to anyone, Liverpool, Chelsea.
"[You are] always going to try to find a solution to avoid it. If you don't do well it can happen.
"What happened with Liverpool can happen, I don't know why it has not happened to us.
"All I know is what you did yesterday doesn't count for tomorrow."
Guardiola feels the pressure is only ever a couple of defeats away, explaining: "I've lived a fairytale history here in Manchester. We have won a lot and that's why the storm is less. [But the] moment we will lose, the storm will come.
"When you win it's safe, comfortable. When you lose, you have to find the solution, have to figure out why you are not consistent.
"When we didn't win one, two, three games it's normal. You can lose, figure out why it happened. [You cannot] always expect to win all the games for 10 years, it's not the reality."
Soca Warriors whip Cuba 3-1 to preserve League A status in Concacaf Nations League
Trinidad and Tobago’s Soca Warriors gifted interim Head coach Derek King his first win in charge as they defeated Cuba 3-1 in a crucial Concacaf Nations League encounter at Dwight Yorke Stadium in Scarborough on Monday night.
The Soca Warriors, who entered their final Group B contest in danger of being relegated, literally saved their best for last with a dominant performance that saw them preserve their League A status. They
Trinidad and Tobago’s fourth place finish on five points, also secured them a spot in the preliminaries of the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup. Jamaica (eight points) and Honduras (seven points) took the quarterfinal spots as well as automatic berths into the Gold Cup, while Nicaragua placed third on seven points by virtue of an inferior goal difference.
Cuba (three points) and French Guiana (one point) have been relegated to League B for the next edition of the tournament.
Knowing what is at stake, Trinidad and Tobago, who let a two-goal lead slip away to Cuba on last, wasted little time to declare their intentions. They broke the deadlock in the 13th minute thanks to Dantaye Gilbert, who fired home from close range.
Joevin Jones repaid King’s confidence in him on return to the programme, as he doubled the Soca Warriors lead with a tidy right-footed finish in the 38th minute. Interestingly, that goal took his tally to five to extend his lead as the Twin Island Republic’s all-time top scorer in the Nations League.
Andre Rampersad and Nathaniel James had grand opportunities to push Trinidad and Tobago further ahead, but both were denied by Cuba’s custodian Raiko Arozarena two minutes apart in the 41st and 43rd minutes, respectively.
Cuba threatened to make things interesting after the interval as Yasnier Matos pulled one back in the 62nd minute.
However, Real Gil ensured nothing of the sort transpired when he restored the Soca Warriors’ two-goal cushion with a decent solo effort in the 65th.
Cuba’s problems and, by extension, their chances of avoiding relegation were compounded when Karel Perez Mendoza was shown a red card in the 70th. From there, Trinidad and Tobago did what was required to see off the remaining minutes.
It runs in the blood - Maldini's joy after Italy debut
Daniel Maldini, son of Italy great Paolo, made his international debut in their 4-1 win over Israel, becoming the third generation of his family to play for the Azzurri.
Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Mateo Retegui and Davide Frattesi scored the goals, ensuring they remained top of their Nations League group after four games.
Maldini came on as a 74th-minute substitute to replace Giacomo Raspadori on Monday, with his father, who earned 126 caps for the national team, watching from the stands.
It is the first time three generations of a family have played for Italy's national team, with Paolo Maldini's final match coming 22 years and 118 days ago, while Cesare Maldini, Daniel's grandfather, played for the last time 61 years and one day ago.
"I'm happy that my parents came here, we'll talk when I get home," Daniel Maldini, who also played for Milan like his father and grandfather, said after the match.
"It was a strong, positive emotion, I am very happy to have played and that the match went well.
"I hope to bring some quality, even if there is already too much. I try to help as much as I can."
Chelsea defeat spells end of Eidevall's Arsenal tenure
Jonas Eidevall has called time on his spell as Arsenal head coach after an underwhelming start to the campaign.
The Gunners have been tipped as title contenders in the Women's Super League this season, yet they have won just one of their opening four matches.
They also went down 5-2 to Bayern Munich in their first Women's Champions League group stage match last week, before losing 2-1 to Chelsea to suffer their first loss of the WSL season.
A bad week that started with a draw against struggling Everton and ended with that loss to Chelsea at Emirates Stadium has ultimately signalled the end of Eidevall's tenure.
Arsenal confirmed on Tuesday that the Swede, who was appointed in June 2021 and has overseen 120 matches in all competitions, had resigned.
Renee Slegers, the first team assistant coach, will take over in the interim until Arsenal, who face Valerenga on Wednesday before taking on West Ham on Sunday, confirm their next permanent appointment.
Gunners sporting director Edu said: "We thank Jonas for his commitment to the club and achievements here since joining us in 2021. We have great respect for the dedication and commitment he showed to our women’s first team and recognise the role he has played in the growth and development of Arsenal Women.
"We all wish him the very best for the future. Our focus will now turn to the process of appointing a new head coach, and in the meantime, supporting Renee, as she takes interim charge of the team starting with two important fixtures this week."
Eidevall led Arsenal to back-to-back Women's League Cup titles in 2022-23 and 2023-24, as well as finishing second in the WSL in his first season, and third in each of the past two campaigns.
The 41-year-old won 80 matches in all competitions, for a win ratio of 66.67%.
In the WSL, he picked up an average of 2.24 points per game from 70 matches. Of the five Arsenal bosses to oversee at least 10 fixtures in the competition, that points per game average is the fourth-lowest, ahead of only Pedro Martinez Losa (1.94).
On Saturday, in the defeat to Chelsea, Eidevall matched his predecessor Joe Montemurro as the Arsenal manager with the most games in the WSL.
Eidevall's team scored 171 goals, winning 49 games (70%). Since he took over at Arsenal, only Man City (178) and Chelsea (209) have scored more goals than the Gunners.
Meanwhile, of ever-present WSL teams in that time, only Chelsea (45) have conceded fewer goals than Arsenal (50), and the Blues are also the only side to lose fewer matches (seven, compared to the Gunners' 11 defeats).
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