Great news for Arsenal: Manchester City 'exhausted' ahead of title showdown

Arsenal have received great news as Pep Guardiola has admitted that his side, Manchester City, are "exhausted" ahead of their upcoming important games in the Premier League.

Manchester City have been remarkable since the 2022-23 season resumed post the Qatar World Cup, having clinched 21 victories from 27 matches while losing just three. The Sky Blues drew 1-1 with Bayern Munich on Wednesday, but defeated them 4-1 on aggregate to reach the Champions League semi-finals.

The Etihad club is chasing a historic treble as they are very much alive in the FA Cup and the Premier League, apart from the said European competition.

'Don't know how we'll recover'

In the first leg of the quarter-finals in Manchester, Guardiola's side claimed a 3-0 victory, which marked the Spanish boss' 100^th win in the Champions League. He is just the third boss to record 100 or more wins in the Champions League, after Carlo Ancelotti (105 wins) and Alex Ferguson (102 wins).

Over the last month or so, Manchester City have claimed several big wins and have scored a tally of 28 goals in their last seven matches across all competitions. However, all this has come at a cost, with Guardiola saying his team are physically and mentally "exhausted" after the second leg in Munich.

Manchester City have two big fixtures coming up next. They are scheduled to take on Championship side Sheffield United in the semi-finals of the FA Cup on Sunday (April 23) before hosting Premier League leaders Arsenal at the Etihad on Wednesday (April 27).

Guardiola's City are four points behind Mikel Arteta's Gunners, but the former have a game in hand. A victory over Arsenal next week would close the gap at the top of the league table, leaving the Gunners no room for any further errors.

"We are exhausted. I don't know how we recover to play against Sheffield United. Now is a tough moment for the game on Saturday," Guardiola said in a post-match interview on Wednesday.

While Arsenal have drawn their last two games in the Premier League, defending champions Manchester City are the only club to have won each of their last five fixtures.

"Of course, I am happy, three years in a row in the semi-finals of the Champions League. We struggled in the first half. We were fortunate before the penalty miss, they had one or two chances and anything could happen but we defended really well. The experience that we have in this competition, the players feel it a lot, they want to do it really well. The second half was much, much better since minute one," the Spanish boss added further.

"Haaland is a special player"

On Wednesday, the loan goal scored by Manchester City came off Erling Haaland's foot and by doing so, the Norwegian forward took his goal tally to 48 in the ongoing campaign. Having played 41 games in all competitions, Haaland has netted 48 goals and also provided six assists.

Bernardo Silva, who has been linked away from City for a while now, heaped praise on 22-year-old Haaland.

"Erling is a special player, a different player to what we had in the past. He doesn't need many touches. He is like a shadow for 85 minutes and touches the ball once it is a goal. When we have that special player in attack it makes us feel more comfortable at the back," added Silva in an interview after a 1-1 draw at Allianz Arena.

Manchester City are yet to win the coveted Champions League, but their road to the final in the European tournament won't be easy as they are set to take on the current holders Real Madrid. Meanwhile the other semi-final is the Milan derby: AC Milan vs Inter Milan.