Pep Guardiola rejects claims Arsenal would be unworthy champions

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has rejected claims that Arsenal would be an unworthy champion if they end up winning the Premier League title.

Arsenal and City are separated by five points at the top of the Premier League, but Mikel Arteta’s side have been heavily criticised for their reliance on set-piece goals.

The Gunners are the division’s set-piece specialists with Arteta’s side scoring a league-high 24 goals from free-kicks, corners and throw-ins.

Former Manchester United and England midfielder Paul Scholes has been among the critics of the approach and said they would be “the worst team to ever win the Premier League” if they lift the trophy.

Players contend for the aerial ball from a corner kick during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Arsenal. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

However, Guardiola believes they will be worthy champion if they end up winning the league.

“I’m pretty sure the manager is happy and the players are so happy,” Guardiola said.

“And I’m pretty sure you ask all the Arsenal fans and they will say ‘don’t change one second our set pieces.

“They have the feeling when it goes to set pieces, wow, I’m going to score. I’m pretty sure all the teams will want to create that vibe.

“So, enjoyable or not? Maybe, I’m not [in agreement] with the people saying ‘no, that the league is not good this season, the winner will not be good’. I don’t agree.”

Arsenal have been criticized for their reliance on corner kicks (Photo by Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images)

Only Nottingham Forest and Wolves have scored fewer than City’s nine set-piece goals this season. City have scored 84.2% of their goals from open play compared to Arsenal’s 58.6%.

Guardiola accepts that set pieces have become more important this season.

But when reminded at his news conference on Tuesday that his team do not score many goals from those situations, the City boss replied: “Good.”

He added: “We are moving in that direction. I pay more attention to set pieces than when I started my career in Barcelona, for sure. Much more.

“Of course you have to do set pieces.

“If it was not a dangerous situation I would not pay attention, but now every corner they put the chaos in the near post and far post and the second balls and this kind of stuff so of course you have to pay attention.”

And despite not putting as much emphasis on set-piece goals as some other teams, Guardiola insisted it doesn’t matter how you score as long as the ball goes in the net.

“I want to score goals,” he said.

“I never prepared a plan to be beautiful. No, no, no. That is a business, you have to score goals and the way you do it, it doesn’t matter.

“The important [thing] here is to score goals. When I score goals in my long throw — no, because we never use it — but a corner, a free kick, wow, I’m so delighted. I’m so happy. This is the truth.”