Pep Guardiola has said Manchester City must “win every single game” to have any chance of being crowned Premier League champions this season.
Man City, who face Chelsea this weekend, currently trail leaders Arsenal by nine points as recent draws against Nottingham Forest and West Ham means the title race is no longer in their hands.
Guardiola’s side have already landed a psychological blow to the Gunners with victory in last month’s Carabao Cup final, which according to assistant manager Pep Lijnders, has lifted the mood within the squad.
City do welcome Arsenal to the Etihad Stadium on April 19 in what has previously been billed as a potential title-decider.
Crucially, perhaps, Man City have played a game fewer than Arsenal which means they can cut the gap to just three points before the final weeks of the season.
That, of course, is dependent on finding some consistency which has alluded City during the campaign.
Speaking on Friday afternoon ahead of the Chelsea game, Guardiola has set his players a points target of 24 from their remaining eight Premier League matches.
"We have to win every single game,” he said.
"Hopefully we can get a lot of points. The situation we are in in the Premier League, we need to get all of them otherwise it will not give us a chance to try until the end.
"We need to get a lot of points. We have not been consistent enough in the season. We have dropped points that we should have taken which is why we are now in the position where we cannot do it differently."
Even if Man City remain perfect between now and the end of the campaign, it may not be enough to deny Arsenal a first league title in 22 years.
As a result, Mikel Arteta’s side can realistically afford to lose at the Etihad and still go on to win the league as they need five wins and a draw from seven matches remaining.
