Pep Guardiola says Manchester City played with 'courage' in win over Arsenal

Thursday 1 March 2018 23:27, UK

Pep Guardiola said Manchester City played with "courage" as his side eased past Arsenal 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday.

Guardiola's men raced into their 3-0 lead inside 33 minutes with a breathtaking spell of attacking football, summed up by goals from Bernardo Silva (15), David Silva (28) and Leroy Sane (33).

However, when asked if that was the best performance he had seen his team put in this season, Guardiola was quick to point out where his team had gone wrong in the game.

He said: "We scored three amazing goals, nice goals, but the last 10-15 minutes of the first half and start of the second half was really poor. It was a tough game in front of their own fans, who were quiet. When you have lots of points you can always relax and we did the opposite. We played with courage."

After meeting in the Carabao Cup final four days earlier, where City triumphed 3-0, a huge gulf between the two clubs was on show again in freezing conditions in north London.

The win sends City 16 points clear at the top of the Premier League and Guardiola admits gaining a further 15 points will be enough for them to lift the Premier League trophy.

"It's important to maintain the 16 points in front - we need five more games to be champions," he said.

"It's never easy, when you win the title, you think you can relax or not be focused but we were. So far, we've had an amazing Premier League season."

Sane was handed the man-of-the-match award after a scintillating display down the left wing, where he scored one and played a major part in both other goals.

The 22-year-old suffered ankle ligament damage following a tackle by Cardiff's Joe Bennett at the end of January but recovered quicker than predicted.

"He's had a top, top season after having a problem against Cardiff with Joe Bennett," Guardiola said.

"He's come back and has given huge effort as his still not good in his ankle. He came to me and said he wanted to help - he was ready. In the first game he came back he wasn't top, but today was the first time he's been back and played quality. The first goal was a brilliant action and he scored the third. He played a really good game."