Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has warned his side about potential complacency in the Premier League title race, claiming it is far from over. It comes as Arsenal's grip on the trophy has loosened in recent weeks as the side have gone four games without a victory.
Three consecutive draws against Liverpool, West Ham and Southampton saw their lead cut by City ahead of a head-to-head between the two teams. The Gunners could have put things back into their hands, but a 4-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium has seen the Cityzens move within two points with two games in hand.
"I don’t know what is going to be required," Mikel Arteta said when asked if his side will have to win all five of their remaining games to win the league.
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"For sure we have to lift the players up first because they suffered tonight and it’s a difficult one to swallow. Lift them up tomorrow and we need to do everything that we’ve done so far so well to earn the right to win the next match. That’s where we have to start right now."
While Manchester City are the favourites to win the league now and many have come to the conclusion that they will do so, there's no guarantee. It only takes a quick switch of form, similar to that of Arsenal's in recent weeks, to turn the whole season around in the final few games.
Guardiola has been keen to guard against complacency, saying ahead of his side's clash with Fulham, via the Manchester Evening News: "It's not over, It'll be over when it's over. We still have seven games. We have to do our game. I know what happened when we win at the Emirates... then we draw at Nottingham Forest.
"Now we go to Fulham against an incredible team. We're taking nothing for granted. We're happy for the last game and the performance but that is all. I know it's not 20 games left, it's seven, but seven games are seven games. Especially considering we have Champions League games and so on.
"Don't misunderstand me, even if we were in the same position 10 points behind - I trust my players. The players are the same, you have to seduce them every single day to make sure it works. Losing is part of the competition. We are there to to try and [win the title]. The feeling is good but we have to prove it again."
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