“Hiking in the mountains” – Pep Guardiola makes stunning pre-Arsenal training remark | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola is never one to back away from a laugh with reporters in press conferences and he was at his sarcastic best after Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Napoli in their opening UEFA Champions League group-phase game.

Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku continued their rich vein of form and were both on the scoresheet in front of an emotional Etihad Stadium faithful, who witnessed the return of club legend Kevin De Bruyne less than three months after the Belgian’s departure from England.

City have recovered from their early season slump since the international break, with back-to-back wins and more importantly, convincing displays, against Manchester United and Napoli building momentum for the Blues ahead of Sunday’s test against title rivals Arsenal.

Mikel Arteta’s men put Guardiola and co to the sword in the fixture last term, with Manchester City suffering a 5-1 battering at the Emirates Stadium in February after having dominated the fixture throughout Guardiola’s reign as City manager.

However, City are in pole position to get a sweet taste of vengeance in north London at the weekend and the deadline day signing of Gianluigi Donnarumma – who has managed shutouts in his first two starts – has given a massive lift to a newlook dressing room that has lost many a leader this summer.

Hugo Viana’s appointment as Manchester City’s director of football saw the Portuguese conduct a major revamp of the first-team squad in the recent transfer window, with De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, Ederson and Scott Carson all leaving the club permanently and the likes of Manuel Akanji (Inter Milan) and Jack Grealish (Everton) leaving on season-long loans.

City are undergoing an period of transition and after enduring a sub-par and sobering 2024-25 campaign that fell way below the standards set by Guardiola’s men for themselves over the years, the visiting dressing room at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday will accept nothing less than three points.

Speaking after Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Napoli in their opening UEFA Champions League group-phase campaign on Thursday evening, Guardiola was asked on how his side will manage their training workload ahead of Sunday’s all-important clash in north London.

Since his arrival at the Etihad Stadium in 2016, Guardiola has grown popular amongst journalists attending press conferences for his sense of humour and a very light demeanour, for the most part, when facing the inquisitive media.

Asked how City will approach training and recovery in the days leading to Sunday’s trip down south, Guardiola cheekily said: “We are going to go hiking in the mountains!

“We are going to do that in these two days. I don’t know; tomorrow is recovery, the players that have injuries are there. Rest, rest, rest, rest, and energy for Sunday.”

Guardiola will be no stranger to the brutal truth that titles can only be lost in the early stages of the season and with title holders Liverpool and Arsenal making strong starts to the 2025-26 campaign, there is very little room for error for City in these early months of the season if they are to mount a genuine title charge this term.