“I know exactly” – Pep Guardiola pinpoints where Manchester City are lacking in Arsenal title race battle | OneFootball

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has outlined where his side must improve between now and the end of the season to stand a chance in the title race against Arsenal.

The Blues produced a thrilling comeback win against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday to stay six points adrift of the league leading Gunners, with late strikes from Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland sealing a first Manchester City league double over the Reds in 89 years.

City have 13 games left in the Premier League campaign to usurp Mikel Arteta’s high-flying side, who are the favourites to win the league title but are set to see the Blues stay on their heels in the short-term at the very least.

Guardiola’s side struggled for goals and consistency in January but after setting up a Carabao Cup final date with Arsenal at Wembley for March 22, City have given themselves a monumental psychological boost that could be a major turning point in the title race.

City scored their first set of second-half goals in the Premier League in 2026 at Anfield on Sunday, having put up a worrying record of dropping off after the interval defensively and failing to see out leads in the new calendar year.

However, the tide seems to be turning and as the Blues search for a third successive win in all competitions against Fulham at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night, Guardiola has admitted there is great scope of improvement for his side.

“I don’t know if we are able to win three, four, five, six games in a row. I don’t know,” Guardiola said in a press conference on Tuesday afternoon as he cast doubt over Manchester City’s prospects of putting a lengthy winning run together in the season run-in.

Furthermore, the Catalan revealed that he has full knowledge of why Manchester City have struggled to match their first-half performances after the interval of late.

The 55-year-old added: “I know exactly the reason why we drop (off) in the second-half, I know it, I know exactly. And we are working on it, and hopefully we can be better.”

City succumbed to a 2-2 draw against Tottenham in north London two weeks ago despite entering the interval with a comfortable two goal cushion, with Dominic Solanke’s controversial second-half brace salvaging a point for Thomas Frank and co.

The Blues have also failed to see out leads against Chelsea and Brighton so far in 2026, with Guardiola missing key players but retaining enough talent to prevent dropping silly points that have cast huge doubt over City’s title chances.

Guardiola will know that City cannot hope for Arsenal to lose just yet as they need to gain further momentum and step up at least a few more gears before they can start pivoting attention to the Gunners’ fixtures in the coming months.