Six-time Premier League winner Rio Ferdinand reckons that Manchester City are going to continue piling the pressure on Arsenal as the Premier League title race intensifies.
Pep Guardiola ’s men reduced the gap to the current table toppers to just five points on Saturday afternoon with a stunning 4-1 win over Liverpool. Mohamed Salah had given the Reds the lead at the Etihad initially, only for the hosts to reply with goals from Julian Alvarez, Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Jack Grealish.
Speaking after City’s win, Ferdinand has claimed that their dominant win was a direct message to their title rivals, just before they faced Leeds in their 3pm kick-off.
The M anchester United icon said: "That is exactly what Pep Guardiola would've wanted from his team. A sublime, dominant performance. That was a statement, and that was a signal to Arsenal, 'c'mon, what are you gonna do now?
"And that's how it's gonna be until the end of the season. It's going to be, 'we'll do our stuff', and they'll play at different times. This was a difficult fixture for Man City, given the history between the two clubs in recent years, and we know that Liverpool can pull a performance out of the bag that we haven't seen too often.
"This was the result that this City team, the fanbase, the management would've wanted. They've produced, they were fantastic to a man, every player on that pitch."
Who do you think will win the Premier League title? Share your predictions in the comments below
Star of the afternoon Grealish also weighed in on the battle for the Premier League title with each side now having ten games to go until the conclusion of the campaign. The England star said: "Arsenal are a great team but we will do everything we can to chase them down. I need to go in the changing room now, see how many days off we get!"
Elsewhere, Man City boss Guardiola claimed that his side’s performance against Liverpool was among the best that he has seen since being named as Manuel Pellegrini’s replacement at the club. As quoted by BT Sport, he said: “From minute one to minute 90, it was the perfect performance.
“We played really, really good in all departments. One of the best performances in my seven years.”
Man City will now be aiming to continue cutting the gap between themselves and the current leaders next weekend as they travel to the South Coast to take on struggling Southampton. Following their clash with Leeds, Arsenal face a trip to Anfield to take on Liverpool who will be keen to respond to their Etihad mauling.
Attention will also likely be sent to a potential key meeting between the two Premier League title rivals coming later this month.
