Pep Guardiola’s mission made clear by Gary Neville as Arsenal title claim made

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Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City side have emerged as the main contenders for Arsenal in the Premier League title race this season.

The Gunners have raced into an early lead at the top of the table, but there have been plenty of twists and turns along the way.

Sunderland’s late draw against Arsenal meant that Mikel Arteta’s side dropped points for the first time in six Premier League games.

With Manchester City going on to thrash Liverpool in a huge clash over the weekend, the lead at the top was cut to just four points.

That has started to shape some of the narrative surrounding the title race, with there being a belief that Man City will be the closest rivals to Arsenal.

With that in mind, Gary Neville believes there is one clear mission for Pep Guardiola in the months ahead.

Gary Neville claims Pep Guardiola will be keen to stay right behind Arsenal in the title race

Both Arsenal and Man City have been in this position before, with one team chasing the other in the early knockings of the title race.

There are still plenty of games to go, and the Gunners will be well aware of how Pep Guardiola has hunted them down in the past.

With that in mind, Neville believes that the Spaniard will have just one mission in mind.

He said on The Gary Neville Podcast: “What his [Pep Guardiola’s] team have done today is give them a glimmer of hope going into a November international break that they’re four points off Arsenal.

“They’ve [Man City] got experience. They’ve got a few players who’ve been around the block, and they’ve got a manager who knows how to win.

“And if I was Manchester City right now, I’m sure Pep Guardiola knows how to win titles more than any of us. He’ll be just thinking, ‘let me hang on Mikel Arteta’s shoulder come March. Let me be close enough to him to apply that pressure’. He’s the one you wouldn’t want near you.”

Unfortunately for Arsenal, he is now the closest competitor in the early race for the Premier League title.

The Gunners will have to block out the noise; otherwise, they face a draining rest of the season in trying to shake off their rivals.

Arsenal fans will be worried by Manchester City display

There was a feeling that Arsenal may have a clean run at winning the Premier League title this season.

With the Gunners looking rock solid at the back and doing just enough in attack, they had the sort of consistency that was lacking from their rivals.

Manchester City have emerged as contenders, however, with the sort of performance against Liverpool that makes teams sit up and take notice.

This is a City side that look far from the robotic winning machine they were just a few seasons ago, but it has all the ingredients of one which can cause problems.

Erling Haaland’s goal-scoring exploits are a clear strength, and if they can add more goals from those around him, it will be a clear problem.

All Arsenal can do is keep track of their own performances and results.