Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has labelled Arsenal as the standout side in Europe this season following his team’s exit from the UEFA Champions League.
Naija News reports that Manchester City were knocked out in the Round of 16 on Tuesday night after a 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium, sealing a heavy 5-1 aggregate loss.
The damage had largely been done in the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, where Guardiola’s men were beaten 3-0.
Speaking after the game, Guardiola turned attention to Arsenal, whom City will face in the Carabao Cup final on March 22, 2026, and again in the Premier League title race.
“We will challenge against the best team [Arsenal] in England, so far, the best team in Europe, look at the results in the Champions League group stage,” he said.
“They have been the first. They have maybe lost three or four games this season.
“We will have to play them, after one or two weeks, we play them in the Premier League.”
City’s hopes of a comeback against Madrid suffered an early blow when Bernardo Silva was sent off for handling a goal-bound effort from Vinícius Júnior.
Vinícius later converted from the penalty spot to give the visitors the lead. Erling Haaland drew City level, but Vinícius struck again to confirm Madrid’s passage into the quarter-finals.
Despite another painful European exit at the hands of Madrid, Guardiola dismissed suggestions that the Spanish side represents the toughest challenge of his career.
“Real Madrid has not been my biggest challenge. My biggest challenge has been Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool,” he told Amazon Prime.
“Maybe you’re in Spain and you didn’t notice… You have no idea what it was like to face Liverpool in those games, a great learning experience.”
