‘It means everything’ – Guardiola and Dias on vital Arsenal win

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola after the 3-1 win at Arsenal: “The game was half-half. It’s not easy to play against them because the build-up they have is really good. We were in the game though and at the end, the quality of the players made the difference.

“There are still many games to play. The Champions League is coming, the Europa League is coming, but we could have come here a few weeks ago eight or nine points behind and losing here we would have been almost over.

“Now, for the fact that they dropped points, we came here for the chance to win the game and now we are there (level at the top of the league). So far, they have got better results than us – this is the reality.”

Defender Ruben Dias, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live: “This is what we live for – it means everything. We are obviously very happy to get three points. It was a very intense game between two teams that love to have the ball and press high. Fortunately, we were the ones who came out on top.

“We know how talented our team is and it’s about making sure we get the best out of them. If we do that, it’s very difficult for someone to get the better of us.”