Pep Guardiola explains how Man City will approach Arsenal challenge

Pep Guardiola said Manchester City will play down their Premier League game at Arsenal as he declared Champions League qualification the most important target of the month.

City's trip to the Emirates is one of the most high-profile fixtures in the calendar as the top two from last season collide for the first time to see who can get the early advantage in the race to this year's title. Both sides have started promisingly, and each know that three points on Sunday will see them above their rivals heading into the October international break.

Guardiola knows how much hype there will be around the game, but suggested that the squad will not be embracing that as they prepare for the game. While they will not want to lose ground in the title race, there is not a better team in the league for knowing when and when not to up the ante in a long battle to be champions.

ALSO READ: Man City to step up talks with Erling Haaland over new contract

ALSO READ: Man City know what will matter most over Erling Haaland contract

"[We will play it] down. It will be different in the second leg when Arsenal is coming back here at the Etihad - depending on the positions, that will define a lot of things. This one will not define a lot.

"It's normal when we win three Premier Leagues, sometimes to catch up something is good. What I want is to arrive here in February is to be close and to be in the competitions and close to the top of the league and make the last 10 games in our competitions.

"At the beginning of the season, we didn't want to have to drop a lot and have one or two or three or four teams so far away and we have it. But we know in this league teams are able to win two, three, four games in a row you can be far away from the top