Pep Guardiola reveals he is surprised by Manchester City's brilliant form; 'didn't expect'

Amidst the surging COVID concerns in the teams' camps, several squads have been depleted and have lost their best players. In such precarious times, Manchester City seems to be the team that has gained the most. While other teams continue to lose players owing to increasing positive cases for COVID-19, Pep Guardiola's side are fortunate to have most of their top stars available.

This significant advantage has helped the Citizens build an eight-point lead atop the Premier League standings from second-placed Chelsea. However, while the Spanish manager admitted that his side's form has surprised him, he cautioned that they must not get carried away as they are likely to lose some games over the season as well.

Pep Guardiola surprised by Manchester City's outstanding form

While speaking to reporters ahead of the clash against Arsenal, Pep Guardiola said, "It is an unexpected situation. I didn’t expect one month ago, when we were four, five, six points behind Chelsea and Liverpool, to be in this position, but there are 54 points [to play for]." With 18 games still remaining in this Premier League season, a maximum of 54 points are yet up for grabs, meaning that things could change very quickly if one of the top teams witnessed a slip in form.

Hence, Pep is keen on wanting his team to focus on the present and the next game. "I am not thinking about the runs. I am not thinking about what is going to happen in the future. I am thinking what's next. The great teams think what’s next. Thinking about long runs is a stupid thing to think about. Think about what is next, be ready, and the most important thing is the desire and the commitment," added the 50-year old manager.

Manchester City headed into this weekend's clash against Arsenal, having won all of their previous 10 Premier League matches. Despite this struggling run, the Spanish manager insists his team will find it hard to maintain such high-level performances and that they will lose some games at some point of the season.

"The run is going to finish. Sooner or later we are going to lose a game. It is going to happen, but be calm, relaxed and try again in the next game. Don't be extremely satisfied when the situation is going good, or extremely depressed [when we lose]. With this amount of games and competitions, I learned last season with the COVID situation, that being relaxed is the best way to approach the next one," added Pep.