Pep Guardiola is well aware of what is at stake when Manchester City take on Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium.
The Premier League title race is in the balance, and many think the winner of the clash on Sunday will go on to become the champions.
Guardiola has already said that if Arsenal win, it’s over, which is massive motivation for Mikel Arteta’s players to get the job done.
What will the City boss do if that does happen? Guardiola has had his say.
What do you think will happen when Arsenal take on Man City?
Pep Guardiola says he will shake hands with Mikel Arteta and start praying if Arsenal beat Man City
The title race will mathematically still be alive irrespective of the result at the Etihad on Sunday.
However, an Arsenal win will take them nine points clear of Manchester City at the top of the table, and that will likely be too much for Pep Guardiola’s side to overcome, despite their game in hand.
So, the City boss is right to say that it will be over if his team ends up on the losing side, but he has another plan if that happens.
In the embargoed section of his press conference, Guardiola claimed that he will shake Arteta’s hand if he gets beaten and then start praying that Arsenal will lose their final five games.
However, he admitted that it will not happen.
Guardiola said, as per HaytersTV: “If we lose, I will shake hands with Mikel and I will pray that they will lose their next five games to become champions.
“But I think it’s not going to happen, so we’ll try to win our game on Sunday.”
READ MORE: Supercomputer predicts who’s more likely to win Man City vs Arsenal after running 10,000 simulations
Is Pep Guardiola being honest here or is he playing mind games?
Arsenal should not listen to anything Pep Guardiola says
Guardiola has been full of praise for Arsenal and their players ahead of the game at the Etihad Stadium.
The Spaniard’s comments may well be genuine, but there is also a small chance that he could be playing mind games.
There’s no way to tell what Guardiola’s real intentions are, but we just think the Arsenal players should ignore him altogether before the game.
All the focus should be on the tactics and the mindset. Nothing else matters as they go into the clash, where a victory will make everyone’s dream come true.
Hopefully, that happens at the Etihad on Sunday.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
