Pep Guardiola has been full of praise for Arsenal over the last week.
The Manchester City boss saw his side beat the Gunners in what was a really tight Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium.
That has blown the title race wide open, and many people now think the Sky Blues are the favourites to go on and win it.
Guardiola is not taking anything for granted just yet, and one of the reasons for that could be because he knows how good Arsenal are.
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Pep Guardiola raves about how Arsenal play
Arsenal are one of the most complete teams in the world.
The Gunners are extremely strong in every department, and they have the players to dominate every phase of play as well.
Even against Manchester City at the Etihad, Arsenal played well for large parts of the game, and if their attackers were more clinical, they would’ve come away with the three points.
Pep Guardiola could see that from the sidelines, and he has now raved about all the good things Arsenal do, including set-pieces, which he thinks are a nightmare.
He said, as relayed on HaytersTV: “They are a top team. They are a contender to win the Champions League, they are top of the league.
“I saw that game and we had to sweat and sweat, we had to fight a lot to beat them because they have everything. They are so, so competitive, and their mentality is…
“Many, many good things they do really well. When they play the set-piece short, they play well. When they play the long ball, they win the first ball and second ball. Set pieces are a nightmare!
“That’s why I give a lot of credit. We compete with them, against them, and the last two times, we beat them. I give a lot of credit to these players, a lot.”
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Arsenal need set-pieces more than ever now
The biggest complaint from fans about Arsenal is their lack of goals from open play, but that has changed in recent weeks.
The Gunners haven’t relied on corners or free-kicks for a few games now, but Nicolas Jover needs to bring that back into the game very soon.
That is because goal difference could become extremely important in the title race now, as both Arsenal and Manchester City will end up with the same number of points if they win all their remaining games.
So, the Premier League leaders need goals every way possible, which is why their set-piece prowess is needed now more than ever before.
Mikel Arteta’s men take on Newcastle United next. In the reverse fixture, which was a 2-1 win, both of Arsenal’s goals came from set-pieces.
It would be great to see a repeat of that on Saturday.
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