Guardiola urged Manchester City to approach the match with a calm and composed attitude, urging them not to let emotions dictate their decisions.

The 33rd round of the 2025/26 Premier League season will feature a highly anticipated match as Manchester City hosts league leaders Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium. However, Pep Guardiola stated in a press conference that the players must not let emotions affect them and should approach the game with a calm mindset.

Manchester City secured a comfortable 3-0 away victory against Chelsea in their last league match, thanks to goals from Nico Aurelli, Gue, and Doku. With three wins and two draws in their last five games, Manchester City currently sit second in the table with 64 points and a game in hand.

As for Arsenal, Mikel Arteta's team continues to lead the league table with 70 points. Although they lost 1-2 to Bournemouth in the last round of the Premier League, Arsenal successfully advanced to the Champions League semi-finals earlier, so their morale is comparable to Manchester City's.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said, "I told the players that this is just a football match, and we must treat it like any other game. If we get distracted by emotions, we will lose focus. The team's goal is to play well, and that's what the team needs to do, and that's what we need to have against a team like Arsenal."

“We need to get better. We were okay in the first half against Chelsea, but not great. The first 30 minutes against Liverpool weren’t good either, and the first 30 minutes against Arsenal in the League Cup final were much better for them.”

Guardiola pointed out, "We can't expect to be perfect against teams like this for 90 or 95 minutes, but it's not about the future, the present, or the past; it's about confidence, which is an extremely important factor. If we could buy confidence in a supermarket, we would buy it immediately. The reality is, there are still 7 games left in the Premier League, and that's when the real deciding moment will come."

“We feel great right now and are ready. A month ago, we dropped points at times and I thought we were out of the game. But after looking at the schedule, we told ourselves it didn’t matter. We will be playing Arsenal at home, and that’s an opportunity. It’s a six-point gap, but it’s not a short distance. We still have a chance to make it. That’s where we are now.”

Furthermore, when discussing their upcoming match against Arsenal, Guardiola said, "They are strong in every aspect, excellent in terms of physical strength, physique, and ball control. Their counter-attacks after a deep defensive formation are also very good, top-tier among top teams. They are very aggressive and excellent at set pieces, which is why they have come this far."

“They reached the Champions League semi-finals, led the Premier League all season, and I’m proud to have competed against them. It’s a pity we’re not in the Champions League, but we won the League Cup, reached the FA Cup semi-finals, and now we’re here again. We’ll see what happens next.”

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