Rodri turned his attention to Arsenal after Josep Guardiola’s inspirational half-time team talk, declaring Manchester City were ready to involve the Gunners in the race for the Premier League title. City midfielder Rodri is adamant Guardiola’s side have proven they have Arsenal’s standards and have their sights firmly set on reforming the squad.
Arsenal lead the league with a nine-point difference and remain the overwhelming favorites to win. However, City won their first silver medal of the season by defeating Mikel Arteta’s side in the Carabao Cup final, and Rodri believes this could take a big mental toll on the Gunners.
City have a game in hand against Arsenal, who also have to travel to the Etihad on April 19, while the Gunners remain in the Champions League as Guardiola’s side have already been eliminated from Europe.
When asked about how much a win at Wembley would affect the title race, Spanish star Rodri said:
“There’s still a lot of work to do and obviously we didn’t want to leave the Champions League. But we’re out and now we have to look positive and we have more time to prepare for the games. So that’s something to consider, but at the same time we have to celebrate this.”
City ended Arsenal’s hopes of winning a historic treble, but Rodri revealed it is City who now have Treble ambitions.
Despite having already qualified for the Carabao Cup and being eliminated from Europe, City refuse to let go of their title dreams as they face Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals. “We knew this was a very important game, not only for the title, but also because we had to play against the best team in the league,” Rodri said.
“Now I need to take a break and come back for the next international match and be optimistic that I can still play two more games.”
City also have the advantage of experience when it comes to winning, with Rodri revealing that Guardiola’s half-time team talk actually calmed the team’s nerves and was the deciding factor in their victory at Wembley.
The first half ended scoreless, but after the break Guardiola got the better of Arteta and City lifted the trophy, leaving Arsenal empty-handed once again. The Gunners have been without a silver medal since winning the FA Cup in 2020 and Rodri observed that Arsenal were visibly running out of steam on the Wembley turf.
Rodri said of Guardiola’s speech: “I think it was a calming speech. We were doing well, we had no problems. We did well in terms of pressure. It was more a matter of our character wanting to play the game rather than letting the opponent take control.”
“It felt like they were a little bit down physically and we knew that and wanted to go after them. You can tell when you have good players in the area and Nico O’Reilly showed that potential again.”
