Pep Guardiola pleased after keeping fans at Etihad 'until the end' with win over Arsenal
Monday 19 December 2016 09:17, UK
Pep Guardiola was delighted to keep the Man City fans inside the Etihad "until the end of the game" during their 2-1 win over Arsenal, admitting they normally leave early.
Goals from Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling cancelled out Theo Walcott's early opener for Arsenal on Nissan Super Sunday, meaning City moved above their opponents and are now in second.
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The Spaniard, who has come under criticism in recent weeks, praised his side's character and said he was happy to see fans remain until full time.
Guardiola told Sky Sports: "We had the spirit, we didn't receive complaints from our fans, they enjoyed it. They stayed until the end of the game, normally they leave 10 or 15 minutes before the end but today they stayed.
"All the game we played with a good personality, maybe not the opening 10 minutes. It's not easy to make a good comeback, but I'm satisfied, the same way I was against Watford, Everton, Middlesbrough, Chelsea."
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Guardiola admits he is surprised to find his side second in the Premier League after their form in recent weeks, which had seen them win just twice in seven games in all competitions before this week's wins over Watford and Arsenal.
"It's important now we are second, after what happened in the last month or month-and-a-half, to be second it is almost not true," Guardiola said.
"When opponents are strong, it's important to us, we make a good game, from the beginning to the end.
"It's normal, when they have the ball they are so, so good. We deserved our win, we played quite similar to the game against Chelsea. Today we had fewer than the Chelsea game.
"This year there are two Premier Leagues to win. One: the team going for the Premier League, and the three or four teams going for the Champions League, this year it will be really tough to qualify for the Champions League."
