Pep Guardiola Man City exit claim is everything Arsenal and Mikel Arteta were waiting for

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has hinted that he could be edging towards the end of his tenure at the Etihad Stadium. Since arriving from Bayern Munich in 2016, he has dominated the Premier League eclipsing the challenge of both Liverpool and Arsenal.

The Gunners have pushed City close in the last two top-flight campaigns and on Sunday, they were edged out on the final day of the season after West Ham slipped to a 3-1 defeat in the North West. Arsenal overcame a scare to beat Everton, ending Sean Dyche's winning run at the Toffees, after falling behind to Idrissa Gueye's opener.

Takehiro Tomiyasu equalised three minutes later because Kai Havertz completed the turnaround with a minute of normal time remaining. Despite the win, Arsenal finished two points behind City on 89 points - the latest landmark in the development of Arteta's side in North London.

As a result, there was a pitch invasion at the Etihad Stadium as City claimed a fourth consecutive Premier League crown. Speaking to Sky Sports, Guardiola revealed that he is more likely to leave than remain with the club.

"The reality is I am closer to leaving than staying," said the former Barcelona manager. "It's eight years, will be nine. Right now, my feeling is I am staying next season.

"We talk with the club, we have time to talk next season because I have to see the players as well. If they follow me, they follow us... for many reasons. I will stay. During the season we will talk," he added. "Yeah, I have a contract. I want to be here next season, yes."

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The development from the 53-year-old could be a boost for Arteta in his hopes of ending the wait for the illustrious trophy to return to North London. Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said recently that waiting for Guardiola to depart could be the catalyst for the Gunners to get themselves over the line and win their first Premier League title since 2004.

He said: "Everyone will go for the Villa game and rightly so, but in a normal run in you may have one mistake. I just look at it and think do they have to wait for Pep Guardiola to leave in the next year or two? Or do they just have to somehow get that extra two points from somewhere?

"But you can’t talk about that because Arsenal have been amazing this season, the amount of points they’ve amassed is fantastic. You might have a situation where you have to wait for Pep Guardiola to go but if Mikel Arteta doesn’t win anything again next season that might be four seasons without any trophy.

"But for me, I'd almost think 'he's a top manager, we know we've got one of the best, we might have to wait until Pep goes. Don't do anything silly, don't panic. This guy knows what he's doing'. We've seen that in the last couple of years. You've just got to hang on in there."