Manchester City have their sights firmly set on Arsenal as they look to complete a historic Treble of trophies. The Citizens have a healthy 3-0 advantage over Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-final, and are set to face Championship side Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday. Pep Guardiola’s men could then face a potential title decider against Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, 26 April.
Guardiola has made it clear that his team must win in order to keep up with their rivals, saying “they [Arsenal] have had an incredible run so far this season, I don’t think they will drop many points and we have to be in there. It is important for us to arrive at the match by winning today and [it is] a final against them in the next Premier League game.” Arsenal can re-establish their six-point advantage when they face West Ham on Sunday and the gap could be nine points by the time they meet City as they play an extra league game against bottom club Southampton next Friday.
The Citizens’ star striker Erling Haaland has been in remarkable form this season, breaking records with his 47 goals in 40 matches. His two goals against Leicester took his tally to 32 top-flight goals in his maiden Premier League campaign, putting him on course to break Alan Shearer and Andy Cole’s record of 34 goals in a single season. Guardiola expressed his desire for Haaland to break more records, saying “I want, I desire he breaks all the records possible, that means he scores a lot of goals which helps us. I think he wants titles and we are still there but it is impressive and still eight games to play to break all of them.” Haaland was withdrawn at half-time as a precaution alongside defender John Stones, to which Guardiola said “Excellent as always. John and Erling return from injury, he played 90 minutes against Bayern after 15 days out and you have to take care with John. After 45 minutes it was good for them to rest. All the statistics I don’t know about but I am impressed.”
Manchester City have a pivotal three games ahead of them as they aim to complete a historic Treble of trophies. Pep Guardiola’s side have Arsenal within their sights, with a potential title decider at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, 26 April. The Citizens have a healthy 3-0 advantage over Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-final, and are set to face Championship side Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday. Guardiola has made it clear that his team must win in order to keep up with their rivals, and star striker Erling Haaland is on course to break Alan Shearer and Andy Cole’s record of 34 goals in a single season. With eight games left to play, City are determined to make history this season.