Man City driven by Liverpool lesson in Premier League title race as Pep Guardiola makes admission

Liverpool will almost be relieved it has been spared the final-day heartache. This time around, it's Arsenal who has produced a near-perfect run-in, only to see Manchester City match it every step of the way.

Of course, Jürgen Klopp's men held the initiative at one point, and would much rather have still been in the fray heading into the final Premier League weekend — likely the last ever for the manager. But having fallen short, Liverpool at least avoids the pain of missing out to Pep Guardiola by a ludicrously narrow margin for a third season.

That being said, it would be typical if this time, Manchester City choked at the death, handing Arsenal the championship. For his part, Guardiola certainly isn't counting any chickens just yet, even though a win over Spurs in midweek would generate a two-point advantage heading into the final day.

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And the Manchester City boss has revealed that his side is being driven by a lesson learned from Liverpool. As far as Guardiola is concerned, there is no option but to win the remaining games, or else the title will slip away.

“It’s obvious,” Guardiola said, via the Independent. “We have just one option: win the game. We travel for that. I felt from what happened in the past with the way we were playing against Liverpool [for the title] I said either we win, win, win or it will be over."

Mathematically, Manchester City could definitely still win the league despite dropping points at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where Guardiola is yet to win in the league. If that game ended in a draw, Arsenal could suffer heartache one step worse than even Liverpool ever suffered, losing out on goal difference if the Etihad outfit could then engineer a goal difference swing of three on the final day.

Arsenal, meanwhile, could yet fail to win its final fixture against Everton. But Guardiola is taking those Liverpool races as his default position, assuming that Mikel Arteta's side boast similar staying power.

Liverpool.com says: Arsenal is getting a big compliment from Guardiola. He has repeatedly admitted that his success at Manchester City would not have been possible without Klopp's Liverpool, and it seems he now believes his old assistant has turned the Gunners into similarly worthy challengers.

For Liverpool, and incoming boss Arne Slot, the immediate goal will be to ensure that Manchester City and Arsenal do not have a duopoly on the next era of the Premier League. Klopp kept the Reds in the mix for too long to be ousted unceremoniously by Arteta, and the title challenge he sustained for most of this season is a sign that the squad he is leaving behind has most of the tools to be competitive.

When it comes to this season, Guardiola is probably right. Manchester City needs to win its last two games to see it out, and will very likely do so.