Pep Guardiola gets honest message from Mikel Arteta over his Man City team ‘going backwards’

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has set the bar so high at the Etihad that he can no longer improve, says Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.

Despite being reigning Premier League champions for four consecutive years and coming into this season aiming for a record-extending fifth, City have faced widespread struggles.

They have already doubled last season's number of defeats in the English top flight, leaving them trailing behind Liverpool by 12 points and six points adrift of the second-placed Gunners heading into this weekend's clash at the Emirates.

City's head coach had a particularly tough time over the Christmas period and Arteta, who previously worked as Guardiola's assistant, fears that the expectations set by his impressive six league titles in Manchester are almost impossible to surpass. "The bar is so high for him that he can't go higher," Arteta told Marca. "So either you maintain it, or people will say you're going backwards based only on the results they see, not on the work being done. "Everyone knows how much I love him and how grateful I am for the opportunity he gave me.