‘Energy, energy, energy’ - Pep Guardiola reveals the key behind Man City’s revival in Premier League title race warning to Arsenal
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has revealed the key behind the Cityzens' revival as he sent out a Premier League title race warning to Arsenal. The Gunners were momentarily replaced at the summit following City’s late victory over Nottingham Forest last Saturday, before the north Londoners reclaimed top spot following their win over Brighton later in the day.After winning the Premier League title for four consecutive seasons, City endured a nightmare campaign last term, experiencing a massive dip in form from November 2024 that lasted until the end of the campaign. By the start of 2025, it was clear that Pep Guardiola's side were no longer in the race for the league title as Arsenal and Liverpool fought for the ultimate prize, before the Reds clinched for a record-equalling 20th time in their history.The Cityzens had a chance at the end of the season to redeem themselves by winning at least the FA Cup but they lost the final to Crystal Palace at Wembley and ended the nightmare campaign without winning a trophy.At the start of the current season, City lost to Spurs and Brighton, but as the campaign progressed, the team continued to improve and ultimately completed the 2025 calendar with eight consecutive wins across all competitions. They finished a perfect December with a 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest during the weekend. Speaking on City's stunning form this season and massive revival of their long-lost form, Guardiola said: "Energy, energy, energy. The energy we lost last season, everyone started to train better and compete better [when we were in America]. Energy. That’s the first action, after we can talk about the back four, the wingers [but first] it has to be energy. When we went out to Al-Hilal it wasn’t the fact we didn’t win the Club World Cup - it was the fact we were so good there. It wasn’t holidays. I was annoyed because we were good there."Good in the training, the players in Boca Raton, in front of the beach, everyone was happy, we made a lot of dinners, a lot of talks on what was going to happen this season. And we wanted to extend to live there. But after that I spoke with Pep (Lijnders), James (French), Manel (Estiarte), Hugo (Viana), Txiki (Begiristain), and something changed. It doesn’t mean we’re going to win but to recognise a team who can do eight wins in a row and compete in the way we do it. Can we improve? Absolutely, but this mindset is better."On City losing against Spurs and Brighton early in the season, the Spaniard said: "Still, we were in that time not knowing a little bit the players in the best way to suit to play. Managers aren’t magicians, when we do something and everything is clear. I didn’t expect Nico O’Reilly to make the performance like he has. Sometimes you have to realise yourself as well and change a little bit, because we have new players, and the opponents face us in different ways. “That’s why sometimes you need time and winning helps to advance this process to use the time to be a better team. The results helped, and the methodology, Pep Lijnders and James French and Kolo Toure, and new players. I want to help them."Looking for smarter football bets? Get expert previews, data-driven predictions & winning insights with GOAL Tips on Telegram. Join our growing community now!After Arsenal reclaimed the top position in the Premier League table following their win over Brighton, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta said: "We can only control what we do, and we are doing a lot of good things that I think we have to improve as well to have the margins better. We need more players back as well to have better options and maintain the team very, very fresh. Every three days is going to be a challenge, and we are up for it. "That's a willingness to win! We all want to win so badly. Now I don't want to lose what I have and we have to play to continue to score and show that composure and that ability and we should have scored the third one. We have two massive chances to put it to 3-1 and then it would have been different. We haven't, so we have to suffer a little bit more."Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reportingA mouth-watering second half of the season is on the cards as the top three teams - Arsenal, Manchester City and Aston Villa - are separated by only three points. The Gunners are all set to face the Villans in a blockbuster Premier League encounter in their final game of 2025 on December 30. If Unai Emery's side extend their winning streak to 12 games on Tuesday, they will end the year, tied on points with Arsenal and push City to the third position.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has revealed the key behind the Cityzens' revival as he sent out a Premier League title race warning to Arsenal. The Gunners were momentarily replaced at the summit following City’s late victory over Nottingham Forest last Saturday, before the north Londoners reclaimed top spot following their win over Brighton later in the day.After winning the Premier League title for four consecutive seasons, City endured a nightmare campaign last term, experiencing a massive dip in form from November 2024 that lasted until the end of the campaign. By the start of 2025, it was clear that Pep Guardiola's side were no longer in the race for the league title as Arsenal and Liverpool fought for the ultimate prize, before the Reds clinched for a record-equalling 20th time in their history.The Cityzens had a chance at the end of the season to redeem themselves by winning at least the FA Cup but they lost the final to Crystal Palace at Wembley and ended the nightmare campaign without winning a trophy.At the start of the current season, City lost to Spurs and Brighton, but as the campaign progressed, the team continued to improve and ultimately completed the 2025 calendar with eight consecutive wins across all competitions. They finished a perfect December with a 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest during the weekend. Speaking on City's stunning form this season and massive revival of their long-lost form, Guardiola said: "Energy, energy, energy. The energy we lost last season, everyone started to train better and compete better [when we were in America]. Energy. That’s the first action, after we can talk about the back four, the wingers [but first] it has to be energy. When we went out to Al-Hilal it wasn’t the fact we didn’t win the Club World Cup - it was the fact we were so good there. It wasn’t holidays. I was annoyed because we were good there."Good in the training, the players in Boca Raton, in front of the beach, everyone was happy, we made a lot of dinners, a lot of talks on what was going to happen this season. And we wanted to extend to live there. But after that I spoke with Pep (Lijnders), James (French), Manel (Estiarte), Hugo (Viana), Txiki (Begiristain), and something changed. It doesn’t mean we’re going to win but to recognise a team who can do eight wins in a row and compete in the way we do it. Can we improve? Absolutely, but this mindset is better."On City losing against Spurs and Brighton early in the season, the Spaniard said: "Still, we were in that time not knowing a little bit the players in the best way to suit to play. Managers aren’t magicians, when we do something and everything is clear. I didn’t expect Nico O’Reilly to make the performance like he has. Sometimes you have to realise yourself as well and change a little bit, because we have new players, and the opponents face us in different ways. “That’s why sometimes you need time and winning helps to advance this process to use the time to be a better team. The results helped, and the methodology, Pep Lijnders and James French and Kolo Toure, and new players. I want to help them."Looking for smarter football bets? Get expert previews, data-driven predictions & winning insights with GOAL Tips on Telegram. Join our growing community now!After Arsenal reclaimed the top position in the Premier League table following their win over Brighton, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta said: "We can only control what we do, and we are doing a lot of good things that I think we have to improve as well to have the margins better. We need more players back as well to have better options and maintain the team very, very fresh. Every three days is going to be a challenge, and we are up for it. "That's a willingness to win! We all want to win so badly. Now I don't want to lose what I have and we have to play to continue to score and show that composure and that ability and we should have scored the third one. We have two massive chances to put it to 3-1 and then it would have been different. We haven't, so we have to suffer a little bit more."Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reportingA mouth-watering second half of the season is on the cards as the top three teams - Arsenal, Manchester City and Aston Villa - are separated by only three points. The Gunners are all set to face the Villans in a blockbuster Premier League encounter in their final game of 2025 on December 30. If Unai Emery's side extend their winning streak to 12 games on Tuesday, they will end the year, tied on points with Arsenal and push City to the third position.
