Arsenal and Manchester City face another crucial weekend in the Premier League title race with another slip up potentially seeing City fall 10 points behind Mikel Arteta's team
11:43, 14 Mar 2026
Pep Guardiola looks on
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Pep Guardiola believes his Man City side cannot afford any more slip-ups (Image: PA)
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola believes the title race will be over for his side if they lose on Saturday to West Ham United. The Blues currently trail Premier League leaders Arsenal by seven points going into this weekend's fixtures.
That gap will become 10 points if the Gunners beat Everton at home on Saturday (5:30 GMT) before City travel to Nuno Espirito Santo's men several hours later (8:00 GMT). Both teams have been chasing an unprecedented quadruple this season as they remain in contention for the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup.
But City's hopes of achieving that unique feat look likely to end in Europe after losing the first leg of their last 16 tie against Real Madrid 3-0. Arsenal's tie against Bayer Leverkusen, meanwhile, is in the balance with Mikel Arteta's side drawing 1-1 from the first leg in Germany.
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And Guardiola attempted to turn all attention to domestic matters in Friday's pre-match press conference as City look to keep the pressure on Arsenal with all three points at the London Stadium.
He said: "Now it's West Ham that defines the Premier League. The league is the most difficult title.
"I believe it's the most difficult one. Now we go there knowing that if we drop points, it will be over."
Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola
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Arsenal and Manchester City are set for a tense run-in in the Premier League title race(Image: Getty Images)
The 55-year-old has admitted that his team now face a crucial stretch of the season with the knowledge that one slip-up could be fatal to his side's dream of winning silverware.
He added: "I've always said when we arrive in the last 10 games every team plays for something. For relegation, for Europa League, for Conference League, for Champions League, to be champions.
"It's a pleasure to be here. Last season we could not be here [fighting for the title]. It's normal, every game. Now there are no second chances."
Arteta, meanwhile, is refusing to be drawn into talk over a quadruple for his side when asked about the possibility in Friday's pre-match press conference.
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He said: "If you had an hour seat from competition to competition, we're going to play in seven days in three different competitions so that drags you from one to another.
"The urgency to get prepared, to translate the message that you want, to make the right decisions and to make sure that we arrive into any game in the best possible way, it's enough and the rest is a consequence of that process and how well we do it, which is still very far."
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