‘We’d prefer to lead’ - Pep Guardiola makes Premier League title race admission as Man City continue hunting leaders Arsenal

Speaking to the official Manchester City club website, Guardiola admitted that while his side are doing well to compete across multiple competitions, he would prefer to have more points on the board rather than be in the position of chasing leaders Arsenal.

The Spaniard continued that his side will take things "game by game" as they look to take the ascendancy at the top of the Premier League, amidst their continued exploits in the Champions League and Carabao Cup.

Guardiola has never gone two consecutive seasons without winning a league title in his managerial career, and will be feeling the pressure to take City back to the top after going without a major trophy in a disappointing 2024-25 season. This was reflected in his warning to his players not to overindulge in the festivities on Christmas Day.

Guardiola told the Man City club website: "Well, the best place to be is at the top and still we’re not there. I’d prefer to be ten points clear of everyone, but it is what it is. Arsenal’s doing really well but we are there, so at the end we’re still in the end of December, and the Champions League we are up there and Premier League we are there, semi-finals of the Carabao Cup, we start the FA Cup soon, some important players are coming back, so let’s step by step, game by game what’s going to happen.

"We’re travelling to one of the toughest places, and Forest away has always been tough, especially in this period and with an important person in the history and legacy like Mr. Robertson who unfortunately passed away.

"On behalf of Manchester City, I wanted to give big condolences to Forest especially, his family, I know how important he was, scoring in the European Cup, Champions League in that time. It’ll be nice tomorrow to take a tribute on behalf of Man City for an important player for that club."

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One man who has helped City get back to winning ways is attacking midfielder Rayan Cherki, with the Frenchman being in sparkling form of late. But Guardiola admitted that he is still looking for more from the 22-year-old, as he is from all of his players.

“It’s not just [Cherki], I want everyone [to do even better], but I know the strengths and weaknesses for the players, because I am with them, we are with them every single day and every advice and comment and every suggestion, it’s just to make them better, better and better," he said. "I never in my life want the player to be worse or not try to do our best to become a better player. That’s for sure. [For Cherki], the sky is the limit - the people say that, right? It depends on his limits, what does he want to become - he can achieve it because of course he’s an incredibly talented player."

The January transfer window is now just days away, and Guardiola has not ruled out Man City adding to their squad in that period, just as they did to good effect in January 2025.

The Sky Blues have been heavily linked with a move for Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo, who has a £65million ($87m) release clause that becomes active on 1 January, 2026. The Etihad has been reported to be his preferred destination amidst a host of interested clubs.

Last January, City secured permanent deals for the likes of Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, and Abdukodir Khusanov, and arrivals of a similar calibre could prove the difference as City aim to assume a position of leading the league table in the spring.

"Everything can happen," Guardiola said. "Last season, when we started it I never could’ve expected going into the transfer window with four or five players because we had [so many] players injured."