Pep Guardiola emphasised the accomplishment of winning three consecutive championships while stating that Manchester City must win the Champions League to reach true greatness.
Guardiola, who just led City to a third straight trophy, argued that it is unjust that his squad will only be remembered as one of the best ever if they triumph in the Champions League. After City’s 1-0 victory over Chelsea on Sunday, the Catalan lifted his fifth championship trophy in seven seasons with the team. The title had already been decided on Saturday when Arsenal lost 1-0 at Nottingham Forest.
“I have the impression that there are still five Premier Leagues to play and the Champions League final.” The City coach said in a press conference, “We won a lot, but we can’t deny that it can be unjust to have to win the Champions League to give weight to what you’ve done. “I know that if we don’t win the Champions League, we won’t be whole, and sometimes playing with expression is so great. If we can’t accomplish it now, we will eventually be able to because we are there, so we must try.
Guardiola called Mikel Arteta’s team “winners” and praised title rivals Arsenal for inspiring his players to be even more tenacious. After drawing 1-1 at Nottingham Forest in February, City found their stride and won their next 12 games, outscoring the Gunners 50–50 in the first half of the season. “With the relationship I have with Mikel, congratulations on what they’ve accomplished; he has returned Arsenal to their former glory. After 50 points in the first leg (first half of the season), they dropped a few points, and we were there. It was a similar struggle to Liverpool in prior seasons; they pushed us to our limits. They knew we were there because we were, said Guardiola.
“They are winners; we pushed them, but they performed beautifully. There is a tendency to underestimate them. Given their background, I would be pleased with them. They need to keep doing it. but they are winners, and they made me seriously consider what we would need to do to defeat them. We had to win every game since doing otherwise would make it impossible, therefore we were tenacious and wouldn’t give up.