Pep Guardiola has delivered one of the strongest endorsements of Arsenal’s rise this season, openly admitting that Mikel Arteta’s side currently set the standard in world football.
Speaking ahead of Manchester City’s league clash with Wolves, the City manager reflected on Arsenal’s consistency and intensity across competitions, comments that arrive during a difficult spell for his own side following their shock European defeat in Norway, as previously reported by SoftFootball.
Guardiola’s praise, as shared by Fabrizio Romano on his official X account, also comes in the context of City’s recent domestic struggles, including a painful loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford earlier this month, another result that exposed their fragility.
Fabrizio Romano posted:
Pep Guardiola: Arsenal are the best team in the WORLD right now.
We will try to have a chance to catch them.
With Arsenal seven points clear at the top of the Premier League and flawless in Europe, Guardiola acknowledged the scale of the task facing the reigning champions.
Explaining his thinking, Guardiola pointed to Arsenal’s ability to compete relentlessly on every front. The Gunners remain active in the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, and Carabao Cup, combining tactical control with physical sharpness and emotional maturity.
Guardiola said:
Absolutely. The best team right now in the world. So, look in Champions League, look in the Premier League, look in the FA Cup, in the Carabao Cup. So, it’s the best team right now. And hopefully we can be close and getting better, getting better and give us one chance, you know, to catch them.
In contrast, City have gone four league games without a win and recently slipped to a 3-1 defeat against Bodo Glimt in freezing Arctic conditions, a setback that further highlighted their inconsistency.
Despite those issues, Guardiola insisted his squad still has the quality to respond. He stressed that improvement, not panic, is the focus and that even closing the gap would require near-perfection. His comments were not framed as surrender but as an honest assessment of form and momentum.
City can cut the gap with a win over Wolves, while Arsenal host Manchester United on Sunday. The April meeting between the two rivals could yet define the title race, but for now, Guardiola has made it clear who leads the chase.
