The Premier League Champions fell to a quick double from Tottenham Hotspur, which saw the London outfit go into the break with a 2-0 lead.
However, a pep talk at halftime was enough to get the Cityzens to start flexing their muscles in the second half with World Cup winner Julian Alvarez equalizing for Guardiola’s men before Erling Haaland broke his 330-minute goal drought thanks to a Riyad Mahrez assist.
It was the assist provider, Mahrez, who was the star of the show as he lobbed the goalkeeper for the third and beat him at the near post for the fourth goal, putting the game to bed.
Despite the impressive comeback, Guardiola did not appear to be a manager whose team had just scored four goals against an Antonio Conte-managed side, as he expressed disappointment in the players and fans for their lack of passion and spirit.
“We have to prepare better.” “I cannot deny how happy we are, but we are far away from the team that we were,” he told Sky Sports.
“Not in terms of play; we played well; but there are many other things, like competitiveness.
“We gave them the first goal. The second goal is ridiculous. There’s nothing from the stomach, from the guts. “We were lucky, but if we don’t change, we will drop more points.”
Guardiola added that ” I want to beat Arsenal, but if we play in that way, Arsenal will destroy us.”
Meanwhile, some pundits and fans believe the Spaniard was once again playing mind games. They believe the City manager wants to instill a sense of security and reluctance in the Arsenal squad, despite the fact that he still has two games against the current Premier League leaders.
This is further proven by the remarks he made about the title after suffering a defeat in the Manchester derby. He said to BT Sports’ Des Kelly, “I don’t care about the Premier League or the Carabao Cup; we cannot win.” “We have won a lot, so it is not a problem.”
The former FC Barcelona manager is a master of employing such tactics, as he well and truly knows that Arsenal is not a side that many expected to be at the top of the league and that the pressure could get to them sooner rather than later.
Guardiola will now be hoping for a favor from his opponents, Manchester United and Arsenal when they meet on Sunday.
His side will play Wolverhampton in the league before returning to the FA Cup to face the Gunners, capping off a busy January.
