Pep Guardiola has insisted Manchester City going a league season unbeaten “is not going to happen”, adding that he directly told Arsene Wenger “that run is for him”.
Manchester City drew 0-0 at Crystal Palace to end their 18-match winning run, but a late Ederson penalty save meant they still remain defeated. That keeps them on course to emulate Arsenal’s 2003/04 ‘Invincible’.
“That is not going to happen; I am not thinking to be unbeaten. Maybe Arsene is worried about that but I tell him many times ‘2004, that run is for him’. Today is completely different to 2004. Here are now more strong teams, a lot of competitions, a lot of games. That is not going to happen. I try to win the game and especially focus on Watford.
“I have said many times we are going to lose games. We cannot stay in four competitions winning every three days at that intensity. We have problems with [Benjamin] Mendy and other injuries. John Stones was six weeks out. We recover well and try to keep mentally strong.
“We dropped two points today but we could have dropped against Huddersfield or Southampton. 18 wins in a row, that is not normal, unreal. We have set a new record in the Premier League. For the next team, that is what they have to beat. It will not be easy. We are in December and there are lot of fixtures to play. We need to play every game like we have in the past.”
A remarkable run
Arsenal went a record 49 consecutive top-flight league games unbeaten from May 2003 to October 2004, breaking Nottingham Forest’s previous record of 42 set between November 1977 and November 1978.
The run ended in controversy at Old Trafford as a harshly-awarded penalty spurred Manchester United to a 2-0 win in October 2004.
In completing this remarkable run, Arsenal also recorded an unbeaten top-flight league season, only equalled by Preston North End, who went the season unbeaten in 1888-89. Although Preston North End played 22 league games that season, Arsenal played 38.
During the 2003/4 Premiership season, Arsenal failed to score on only four occasions, 0-0 draws with Birmingham, Newcastle, Fulham and Manchester United. Before the Fulham match, Arsenal had scored in 46 consecutive home league matches, stretching back to Middlesbrough (h) Sat 14 April 2001 (Lost 0-3).
Manchester City needs to win at least 31 more games to catch up with Arsenal’s historic run.
