Pep Guardiola has issued a plea to Manchester City fans ahead of the club’s massive midweek fixture against Arsenal, urging them to turn up in their droves and make plenty of noise.
After their comfortable win in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday, a victory that sealed a Manchester Derby final for the first time in history, the City coach’s mind was already on the next game as his side are set to take on the league leaders on Wednesday.
With Arsenal still sat at the top of the table and playing some of the best football they’ve enjoyed in years, it is very much a potentially title-deciding match and certainly one of the biggest games of the season.
The reality is not lost on Pep either, as he spent a large chunk of the post-match press conference after the Sheffield game talking about “momentum” and how the fans need to play their part, having previously taken a slight dig at the supporters earlier in the season.
🗣️ "Hopefully all of Etihad will be full three hours before the game."
Pep Guardiola calls on the Manchester City fans to create a big atmosphere against Arsenal 🏟️ pic.twitter.com/JvukTAuut3
Pep Guardiola speaking about the importance of the Arsenal game in the title race.
The 52-year-old told media, “Of course the momentum is key, it doesn’t matter if you play every three or four days if you are winning.
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“It’s really important the ‘final’ we have on Wednesday – it is a final – against a team who has been the best team in England so far, they are five points ahead of us. Hopefully, all of Manchester that day will be blue and they can come to support us.
“We need incredible noise from the first minute to the last as I know which opponent we are going to play against. Even though they [drew] the last three games, the way they play is difficult to stop. You have to read exactly what you have to do but it’s a massively important game for us.”
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He went on to add that “if [City] win it’s a step to getting it completely in our hands. The Premier League is 11 months, working, working. We have this opportunity and we want to take it. Hopefully, the whole of the Etihad will be full three hours before.”
With Pep going up against fellow Spanish coach and his former protégé, Mikel Arteta, there is also an element of the ‘master and apprentice’ narrative surrounding the game as well, although City have beaten Arsenal in each of their three previous meetings this season across all competitions.
Pep went on to say of the friendship turned rivalry with his former assistant coach: “The relationship has changed because he’s in London and I’m in Manchester, we don’t see each other as often. He’s busy and I’m busy — but the affection and respect I have with him will remain forever.”
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The question is, will Arteta manage to get one over on his old teacher when it counts?
You can see his press conference in full down below:
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
24th April 2023 
