Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini is anxious his legacy might be tarnished if he fails to qualify City to the group stage of the champions league.
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Arsenal’s early-season form had them in contention for the Premier League trophy but a poor January saw them drop off the pace shown by leaders and eventual winners Leicester.
Arsenal face a daunting trip to Manchester City on Super Sunday, with Manuel Pellegrini’s men needing a win to ensure they remain ahead of Manchester United in the race for fourth place. “I finish my contract here but that is not a thing I am anxious about”, Pellegrini told reporters on Friday. “This one it will be a good season if we finish third, not an extraordinary season but still good”.
“If I was Arsenal, I’d be on the way to Madrid and saying ‘Diego, you win the Champions League and the day after you’re ours”.
He said: “For them to be going into a Champions League semi-final second leg and having the opportunity to progress to the final is a major situation”.
FC’s Steve Nicol is at odds as to why Arsenal continue their late season struggles.
Asked if there was a sense of what the fixture could have been, the 66-year-old replied: “Of course but it is still an important game, even if Leicester are champions today and we are second best”. We didn’t score enough goals and our deficit is there.
“To play well, that is also very important”. First and foremost they’ll be missing their captain, Vincent Kompany, after he picked up another muscle injury in the game against Real Madrid.
Pellegrini told a news conference: “If you are not in the top four and in the Champions League the next year, to demonstrate you are one of the best teams in England, then for me it’s a disaster of a season”.
“We have regrets because we had the chance to finish top of the league, but apart from that it is hard to compare with City you know”.
“It is a season I think you can improve on, but it was not a bad season”.
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When Manchester City against Arsenal was scheduled for the penultimate weekend of the season, it looked like a mouth-watering clash that could decide the fate of the Premier League.
