On the eve of Manchester City’s visit to the Emirates stadium on Monday, manager Manuel Pellegrini said he does not believe that the tie against Arsenal will be decisive in the title race, and the Chilean also admitted that the Premier league will miss an ‘important’ manager in Jos Mourinho.
Pellegrini and his men will be looking to go above Arsenal into second position with a win , but Pellegrini would know that this game — in the long and dramatic title race – will be crucial, but not decisive.
Not a decisive game
Like Arsene Wenger, Pellegrini too steered clear of suggestions that this match is a decisive match in the long title race. He also said that he is wary of Leicester City, who are league leaders at the moment.
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“It’s not a decisive game as after this we have to play 21 games more. It’s important to try to be the best team from the first round, to play against a team with one point more. It’s a game of six points, to win three and to take three off a rival,” Pellegrini said in the press conference, as reported by the club’s official website.
“We must consider Leicester – they are still top of the table. United are just a few points behind us. Tottenham can be involved, so can Liverpool and Crystal Palace. It’s impossible just to think there are two teams involved in the title.”
Premier league will miss Mourinho
Pellegrini and Mourinho have had their differences in opinion, but Pellegrini insists the Premier league was better with Mourinho.
“It’s a difficult situation. The Premier League has lost an important manager. Maybe I disagree with him on a lot of things but he’s not my enemy. It’s a bad thing for the Premier League.
“It’s not for me to miss him but the Premier League will miss him. The Premier league is better with Mourinho. I manage the team in a very different way to the way he does but that doesn’t mean he’s not a good manager or important for the league.”
Not decisive, but crucial
No matter what happens at the Emirates tomorrow, Leicester City will stay at the summit of the table with 38 points. But either a draw or a win for Manchester City will see the visitors leapfrog the Gunners into second place.
With Chelsea FC out of the title race and Manchester United in abysmal form, it could well boil down to the two teams facing off on Monday.