Pep Guardiola has dropped hint on advantage Man City have over Arsenal in Premier League title race

Manchester City's victory over Arsenal on Wednesday night was the clearest example this season of the Blues' title credentials.

Having been pegged back just before the interval by Bukayo Saka's penalty, the match was firmly in the balance. In truth, much of the second half was even until the last half an hour.

Pep Guardiola's decision to bring Riyad Mahrez off and replace him with Manuel Akanji allowed City to revert back to their more familiar back four which had been working so well. With Nathan Ake at left-back instead of Bernardo Silva, Saka's threat was distinguished and the Blues began to control the game.

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Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland's goals in the last 20 minutes led to a deserved victory even if the possession statistics said otherwise. In his pre-match press conference ahead of the trip to Nottingham Forest on Saturday, Guardiola highlighted the important advantage that City hold over the Gunners that has been forgotten at times this season.

"We have been many years here, Manu arrive lately but when you are in the locker room you see things quickly," he explained. "It's not necessary sometimes to tell them how we're doing, they know exactly who we are.

"They know they have to do better if they want to compete at the highest level this season. They talk to each other in the canteen and say they need to be better and it's good because in the end they play.

"They're the artists who work on the pitch, I can't be involved in that." The fact of the matter is that there is no substitute for experience when it comes to challenging for a Premier League title.

As Guardiola alluded to in his press conference, most of the City squad have been there and done it now,