Manchester City may have returned to the top of the Premier League table with a win over rivals Arsenal, but Nathan Ake agrees with his manager that the Blues cannot be considered favourites for the title just yet.
City leapfrogged Arsenal on goal difference with their 3-1 win at the Emirates Stadium this week, although the Gunners have a game in hand, and Pep Guardiola was keen to stress that he still considers Arsenal as the real leaders as they have played one game less.
There was a positive mood among City players at full-time, but Ake was another to ensure feet were kept on the ground, making it clear that Arsenal remain favourites for the title.
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Asked if City are now favourites to win a third Premier League title in succession, Ake simply replied: "No.
“They still have a game in hand so they still have three points on us so we don’t want to get carried away, we will keep doing what we are doing, go game by game and take it from there.
“We know there is still a long way to go, they have a game in hand but for us it is good to come to a tough place like this, get the win – that is important. We knew beforehand it was going to be a very big game and we just wanted to win the game and get the three points and we did.”
However, Ake did suggest that City's experience in title races and performing in pressure games will give them an advantage when it comes to keeping their noses in front of Arsenal.
“We still have a long way to go but we do have that experience,” Ake continued. “It is small margins, it was so tight and both teams can create something out of nothing. I think in the end we made sure we kept it tight at the back and the people up front did the business.
“We have been doing it at home we beat big teams at home. The last two against big teams we lost away so this will be good for our confidence.”
Following the result, Ake's manager Guardiola told Amazon Prime: “No, no, they have one game in hand so I still consider they are leaders, we could be eight, nine, 10 points behind two or three weeks ago and now we are there so it’s important, but there are many games to play.
“Many things are going to happen and we’re not going to win all the games, just be patient, recover well, go to Nottingham, [take it] game by game.”
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