Pep Guardiola says Arsenal should be happy with second place

Pep Guardiola believes Arsenal’s second-place finish in the Premier League is a “success” as it ends their seven-year wait for Champions League football.
Manchester City are now one of the top prize favorites after beating the Gunners 4-1 on Wednesday and despite Arsenal trailing by two points, Guardiola’s side have two games left as the champions look to retain their title.

Arsenal led by eight points at the start of this season and many were aiming to win the Premier League for the first time in 19 years, but a late capitulation has seen them fail to win their last four games.
The north Londoners drew three times in a row against Liverpool, West Ham and bottom club Southampton before their costly defeat at the Etihad and now look set for a runners-up finish unless there is a dramatic turnaround in the latest run of matches.

Guardiola believes Arsenal should be happy to return to the Champions League for the first time since the 2016/17 season, with the Gunners finishing in the top four in the 2015/16 season. When asked if he has the champagne ready as City are one step away from securing a top four result, Guardiola replied: “Yes! It’s already there!

‘Ask Arsenal…they are already in the Champions League. Ask Arsenal owners what it means not to be in the Champions League after six, seven years.
“Next season Arsenal will face the elite, the best teams in Europe, in an incredible competition. It’s an achievement, absolutely.

However, Guardiola is yet to fully write Arsenal, pointing out that City dropped points at Nottingham Forest in February three days after beating the Gunners at the Etihad.

City visit to Fulham on Sunday and Guardiola added: “People say it’s over, it’s not over. We have seven games left.
“I know what happened when we won at the Emirates…we went to Nottingham Forest and we drew.

“Now we go to Fulham, a special stadium against an organized team, a good team. We take nothing for granted.
“I know it’s not 20 games anymore, it’s seven games, but seven games is seven games. Especially considering we have Champions League games and stuff like that.

“We are here to try to [win the title]. We have a good dynamic, the feeling is good but we still have to prove it.
“We have seven games but they have five. It’s really close. The performance against Nottingham Forest [after the Emirates win against Arsenal] was one of the best.
‘Enroute from London, late at night… The team played amazingly but we dropped points, we have to try and avoid that [again].
I know Mikel perfectly, I know, the players know, they [Arsenal] will not give up. If we had a ten-point lead, I’d say it’s over. But we are two points behind.

Do you think that Pep Guardiola was fair enough to have said that about Arsenal? Leave your comments…