Pep Guardiola has claimed that if not for one Manchester City player’s heroics against Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal would already be Premier League champions.
Pep Guardiola would likely be beaming with pride after having witnessed his City side pull off yet another title-defining win out of the bag.
Despite having won three league titles in a row and five in total during his tenure, the £378,846-a-week man’s players seemed hungry to take a huge step towards attaining glory once again.
Guardiola says without one City star, Arsenal would’ve won the Premier League
Several of Manchester City’s big names stepped up on Tuesday, such as Erling Haaland with his brilliant brace, Kevin De Bruyne with his cracking assist and Phil Foden with his influential showing.
Rodri was full of praise for Jeremy Doku, whose cameo off the bench deserved to be hailed.
But there is only one man of the moment after City’s 2-0 win against Spurs.
That is Stefan Ortega, whose incredible display against Tottenham is what has prevented Arsenal from already winning the Premier League according to Pep Guardiola.
Guardiola said in his post-match press conference via HaytersTV: “We defined, I would say, how is the team a team because [Stefan] Ortega saved the actions. Otherwise, Arsenal is champion, [they] can be if we don’t win against West Ham but the reality in modern football, the margins are so, so, so tight.”
Guardiola added: “Do you know how many times Son punished us in the last seven or eight years?”
“I said ‘No, not again.’ But Stefan made an incredible save. He has this talent. In one on ones, he is one of the best ‘keepers I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“It’s the German culture, stand-up, don’t go down, it’s really, really good. He’s played in the FA Cup and Carabao Cups, Ederson has four times setbacks for injuries.”
The Catalan boss concluded: “He’s so reliable and an incredible ‘keeper. The club, our ‘keeper trainer made an incredible decision to bring him here. Incredible”
Rodri agrees with Pep Guardiola, as he hailed Stefan Ortega for saving Manchester City’s blushes as without his tremendous saves, Arsenal would have been favourites for the title.
Stefan Ortega had to be flawless
In our view, Pep Guardiola is spot on about Stefan Ortega, whose exploits must have been painstaking for Arsenal to witness.
Had Ortega let any of the goalscoring chances the Lilywhites created on the night, the game could have ended in a draw.
But the German was impregnable against Tottenham, as the save he made to deny Son Heung-min in a one-on-one situation is a moment that seems set to be etched in Premier League folklore.
On some nights, big players must step up and be as flawless as possible when the margins are tight and Ortega was, as he made multiple brilliant stops.
Pep Guardiola must be grateful to Stefan Ortega for his heroics against Tottenham, while Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal now must hope Manchester City drop points against West Ham United.