Guardiola: Manchester City Have “Recovered Many Things” After Trophyless Season

Pep Guardiola and his men were held to a 1-1 draw by Arsenal on Sunday, a result that leaves them trailing early pacesetters Liverpool by eight points after just five games.

While the performance drew mixed reactions, Guardiola was upbeat when he spoke at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday ahead of City’s League Cup clash with Huddersfield.

“I’m really proud of this fight,” the City boss said. “We recovered many, many things that last season we missed. We have an incredible spirit.”

Guardiola admitted his side had to take a cautious approach against Mikel Arteta’s team but insisted the point was worth celebrating given Arsenal’s strength.

“Of course, we cannot sustain for the whole season to play in the way we played, and we don’t want it. But I give incredible power and credit to the opponents, Arsenal,” he said.

The Spaniard stated this after a summer of change at the Etihad. City have said goodbye to several established figures, including Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Ederson, as Guardiola reshaped his squad over two transfer windows.

“Especially since (Manchester) United (a 3-0 win), we start to recover many things that define our teams for many, many years,” Guardiola explained. “We can do better, yeah, we do it. We could do a few things, many decisions, yeah, we do it. And we have to play a little bit more with the opponent, yes, we will do it. But first comes the spirit that we have shown this week.”

The City manager, who ended last season without a major trophy for the first time in eight years, even likened his role to that of a parent guiding a child. “And we have to take care, this kind of thing, like a father, a mother takes care of their son,” he added.

Manchester City are currently ninth in the Premier League table, but Guardiola’s focus now shifts to Wednesday’s League Cup tie against third-tier Huddersfield.