Pep says Man City can ‘handle’ stress of Arsenal title race

Pep Guardiola said he is confident Manchester City can handle the pressure of a tight title race after a nervy evening against Burnley.

City won 1-0 at Turf Moor on Wednesday to go top of the Premier League table ahead of Arsenal on goal difference and relegate Burnley in the process.

There were tense moments for Guardiola’s side, notably when goalkeeper Martin Dúbravka scored a corner in stoppage time, but the game went over the line.

“I don’t have a machine or anything like that. What was your pressure today? How are you feeling? Were you nervous or not nervous?” Guardiola said.

“I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure that this, for the future, for all of them, for all of us, in this club will be good, even if you live, even if you have been there several times, you handle it better.

“But in general, the way we’re playing, it’s been really, really, really good. So the commitment, the way, the amount of plays are coming, and we just missed that moment a little bit.”

It looked like City might be able to increase their goal difference when Erling Haaland opened the scoring after just five minutes.

But they were wasteful after that and finished the night with 28 shots and an xG of 3.5 with just one goal to show for it.

“I think we played really, really well,” Guardiola said. “I didn’t see all the pictures and the chances we had, but I had the feeling we had a lot.

“And just a lot of these types of games we score the second on the third, for the chances we create we deserve it.”

Arsenal have the chance to regain their Premier League lead this weekend against Newcastle, while City are in the FA Cup semi-finals against Southampton.