Guardiola lauds Man City spirit after comeback against ‘lucky’ Arsenal

The Spaniard says he did not have to say much to his players at half-time at the Etihad but was delighted with their performance against the Gunners

Pep Guardiola praised Manchester City’s spirit after they overturned Arsenal’s “lucky” lead and earned a 2-1 win at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Trailing at half-time to a Theo Walcott goal, City fought back through strikes from Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling to take three crucial points.

Despite the improvement after the interval, Guardiola said he had left it up to the players fix it themselves.

“I didn’t say anything to them at half-time,” he told BBC Sport. “I told them not to think about the score, I told them to keep going.

“Arsenal were lucky in the first half. It was similar to the game against Chelsea – then we played well and lost, and today [Sunday] we won.

“The guys give everything in every game. I’m happy to be City coach. In terms of spirit, it’s always there.”

While Guardiola was happy with his team’s performance, he conceded Arsenal were a difficult opponent .

“We liked to play today, but it’s not easy because of high pressing from Arsenal and they defend compact,” he added.

“When we have some of our players back, we will hopefully score more goals.”