Arsenal temporarily lost the Premier League top spot for the first time since September, after Manchester City easily beat West Ham 3-0. However, for Pep Guardiola, that is still not enough.
The Spanish strategist has never been the type of coach who is content with a simple victory. For him, new standards and performances are the ultimate measure.
The pressure is clearly mounting on Arsenal as Man City extended their winning streak to 5 matches in the tournament, scoring 18 goals. However, Guardiola still maintains the habit of slashing every detail.
After the match, he recalled the confrontation with Leeds in November, comparing how his team played after the break. At that time, The Citizens conceded 2 quick goals before deciding the match at the end of the match.
This time, they still gave West Ham a chance, but the difference was not conceding a goal, with Gianluigi Donnarumma making 3 important saves. Guardiola knows that if he faces sharper opponents, the price could be very different.
"We played when we had the ball not well. We lost too much because we were not in the right positions to disrupt the routes and take the next step.
The reason is that the players were not brave enough to do those actions. But we will improve, because this squad is very open. This team is great and we will try our best," said Guardiola.
No one watching Man City this season believes they have reached a state of perfection and Guardiola is even less. His demand for improved control of the game is completely reasonable, although the data shows that City actually limit opponents quite effectively.
Even with his seventh consecutive win, Guardiola still frankly admitted that his team could not have overcome Arsenal in the title race if they had not played better.
As the Christmas title race enters a stressful period, Guardiola's calls for "more courage" are both a warning to Arsenal and a way to keep his players informed about the victory.
Man City have not reached what Guardiola called a perfect performance, but they are getting very close. And Arsenal, of course, know that better than anyone.
However, Arsenal also knew how to overcome the pressure of a narrow 1-0 win over Everton thanks to Viktor Gyokeres' only goal. This victory helped The Gunners reclaim the top spot from Man City.
"I'm happy, it's undeniable. But the way we play when we have the ball, we have to improve, otherwise it won't be enough to compete for the championship by March or April.
I told the players that Christmas was happy for everyone, but if they don't improve, that won't be enough" - the Spanish captain added.
