The Citizens hope to defend their title against Mikel Arteta’s in-form side.
Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City must be “almost perfect” to have a chance in their title race against Arsenal.
City dropped points when Everton held them to a 1-1 draw on Saturday. But the Gunners couldn’t use the opportunity to increase their lead at the top of the table, settling for a goalless draw against Newcastle.
Arsenal’s current form suggests they can put up a fierce title battle against City, who want to claim the EPL trophy for the second year in a row.
“The way you have to reduce the gap is to play good and win games,” Guardiola said on Wednesday.
“They have an average and they’re going to do 100 points or more if they carry on, and we won’t catch them. We will have to be almost perfect.
“We’d expect from here to the end of the season they’d drop a little bit in terms of their performances, but they were excellent against Newcastle, so we’ll see what happens.”
City will lock horns with Chelsea in their next Premier League game on Thursday.
The Blues come into the game on the back of an underwhelming draw against Nottingham Forest. But Guardiola says playing against Chelsea is always difficult.
“It is always difficult when you travel to Stamford Bridge,” Guardiola added. “It is a tough game against a tough side who are well managed.
“It doesn’t matter the position you are when you travel there – it’s always difficult. At the same time, we’re looking forward to it and the next few weeks in different competitions.”
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