Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says upcoming clash with Premier League leaders Arsenal is de facto ‘final’

It was not so long ago that Arsenal’s march towards the Premier League title had begun to seem somewhat more like a procession, but the relentless form of defending champions Manchester City mean that the title race is not over yet.

City’s six-match Premier League winning streak has winnowed down Arsenal’s lead to just three points.

With a clash between the leaders and their dogged pursuers coming up on April 26, the league remains very much still up for grabs.

The Foxes were swept aside 3-1 by the champions, but Pep still considered it a significant performance.

He told the press: “What you have to do is be there. It’s important to us winning today for the final that we have against them in the next Premier League game.”

City are still competing on multiple fronts and have commitments in both the Champions League and FA Cup to complete before their next league match, against the Gunners.

Despite those important matches coming first on the calendar, Guardiola admitted to having at least one eye on the Arsenal match.

He said: “I would say it’s a final to play more finals because if you lose this game it will be almost over. It’s important to arrive in this position. We spoke a month ago that hopefully we can arrive at Arsenal having the chance to be close to them.

“We want this opportunity knowing how difficult it will be, but before then we have the Champions League semi final and FA Cup semi-final.”

Mikel Arteta’s side travel to Premier League strugglers West Ham on Sunday before hosting Southampton next weekend, meaning they could be nine points clear of City before the two sides go head to head.

City almost found themselves in trouble against Leicester, as Guardiola withdrew key players in a bid to keep them fresh. Leicester pulled one goal back and could easily have had more, but City held on for the win.

After the match, Pep recognised that his caution had almost backfired.

He said: “It’s always tricky after the Champions League against a team who is fighting but the quality is there. We started really well with focus but when you make lots of substitutions you drop a little bit. It’s three points and we move to the next one.”