Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola admitted the deficit to league leaders Arsenal was already sizeable but remained optimistic about his side's title chances ahead of their visit of Liverpool this weekend.

City have not been at their best this season, with three league defeats from their opening 10 matches, but a 3-1 victory against Bournemouth last week did move them up to second in the table, six points off Mikel Arteta's side.

Guardiola spoke glowingly of Arsenal's start, and admitted they would be impossible to catch in their current form, but still believes it's way too early in the season to make declarations about where the title will end up.

On the Gunners' lead at the top, Guardiola said: "If they continue to play games and not concede goals, it will be almost impossible.

"Always you expect that you can be better and they will drop points. All we can do is win our games and get closer.

"The last two or three years, after the process to rebuild the club and the team, they are there. It is exceptional what they are doing for two or three seasons.

"But it is early November. Nobody wins the title in early November. You can lose it - but nobody wins it."

The Spaniard awaits the challenge of Liverpool, City's main rival during his nine-year spell in England.

Arne Slot's men won the Premier League last season but have endured a slump in recent weeks, losing six in seven matches at one point, and Guardiola acknowledged that setbacks are normal, drawing back to City's own struggles at one point last season.

"You have to live it," said Guardiola.

"When you're in a long period, you have to live this. There is no one manager in one club who did not live this kind of situation.

"In 10 years, we had two or three months that were really bad. November to January or February [last season] was really bad. But the team, the culture of the club? It's fine.

"What is important is how you come back. Now is not perfect, always you can do better. That's why we are here and why we've had the success we've had together."

Guardiola will take charge of his 1000th match on Sunday, having won 717 matches, and the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss feels lucky to have been on such a managerial adventure.

He said: "When I started, I didn't expect this. But it is a joy.

"I didn't enjoy every single moment but I enjoyed the journey a lot."

One of the defining features of Guardiola's time as a manager was his friendly rivalry with Jurgen Klopp, who he faced during his time at Bayern and City when they faced Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool respectively.

They faced off on 30 occasions, with 12 wins for Klopp, 11 for Guardiola and seven draws, and Guardiola spoke warmly of the German, who left his role as head coach of Liverpool in May 2024, in his pre-match press conference.

He said: "What happened with the Jurgen period means this has been the biggest because maybe after the first season the Premier League was between us and them.

"Always I enjoyed this healthy rivalry.

I always had the feeling of how much we respected each other. Jurgen gave me a lot and I miss him. He gave me a lot in terms of how much I had to do to try and beat him."