Manchester City have cut the gap on Arsenal down to just two points and beat Real Madrid 2-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday to boost their confidence even higher
Manchester City's Spanish manager Pep Guardiola (L) jokes with Manchester City's Portuguese defender #03 Ruben Dias after the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on December 6, 2025. Manchester City won the match 3-0. (Photo by Darren Staples / AFP via Getty Images) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. /
Manchester City's Spanish manager Pep Guardiola (L) jokes with Manchester City's Portuguese defender #03 Ruben Dias after the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on December 6, 2025. Manchester City won the match 3-0. (Photo by Darren Staples / AFP via Getty Images) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. /
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Ruben Dias has echoed Pep Guardiola's message and insists that Manchester City can get even better over the rest of the season. City are only two points behind Arsenal going into the weekend and have the same goal difference.
When the sides met at Emirates Stadium in September, Arsenal scored in stoppage time to secure a dramatic 1-1 draw. The Gunners know what it's like to be caught by City, having lost out to Guardiola's side in both 2023 and 2024.
Following their impressive 2-1 win away to Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday, Guardiola claimed that his team aren't the finished product. That's despite a run of 11 wins in 14 games.
"We are (far) away," the City manager told TNT Sports post-match. "Still we are not ready. In February, we will be better. We have been here in the past, playing much than today, and we have lost.
"That's football sometimes. The players made an incredible effort, it was an incredibly good result, the spirit is unbelievable, but there are still margins to improve."
Now Dias has given a similar verdict. "I feel like we're in a very good place," the City centre-back affirmed to Sky Sports. "But I feel like we can still be a lot better.
"If that's 70 per cent now and we have 30 still to go or if that's 80 and we have 20 or whatever, I don't know what it is, I feel like we can be even better.
"That's a good feeling to have at this time of the season. We still have a few extra gears to go through. But I acknowledge that in this moment I feel like we're strong, I feel like we can compete, seriously."
City travel to Crystal Palace on Sunday, less than 24 hours after Arsenal welcome last-placed Wolves. Guardiola had to miss his pre-match press conference because of a personal issue on Friday, so assistant Kolo Toure stepped in and heaped praise on their title rivals.
Ruben Dias centre-back of Manchester City and Portugal celebrates the victory after winning the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD6 match between Real Madrid C.F. and Manchester City at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on December 10, 2025 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Ruben Dias believes that Manchester City will get better(Image: Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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"We know the quality of Arsenal," Toure said. "They have a really strong squad, a fantastic manager. But it's all down to us. We have the best manager in the world, he's doing an incredible job every day.
"His passion for the game, he loves the players, he loves his staff, and we know he will take us as far as we can to winning the league. We just focus on what we can do really, not on what Arsenal are doing. Every game is like a final for us."
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