'We are the underdogs' insists Guardiola ahead of title showdown with Gunners

Man City hammered Chelsea in London on Sunday. 

Pep Guardiola has cranked up the pressure on Arsenal ahead of next Sunday's crunch showdown with Manchester City, insisting the Gunners are the best team in both the Premier League and Europe.

City threw down the gauntlet to the stuttering league leaders with a statement 3-0 win over Chelsea thanks to a ruthless second-half display at Stamford Bridge.

Goals from Nico O'Reilly, Marc Guehi and Jeremy Doku helped City close the gap to Arsenal to six points and with a game in hand, victory over the Gunners will leave City's title charge in their own hands.

Victory over Mikel Arteta's side last month has already given City a mental edge on the Gunners, but Guardiola said his side will go into the game as the underdogs.

Guardiola said: "We are six points behind them, if they beat us it's over, if we draw also.

"We are going to play against a team that in 49 games lost three games, in the Champions League didn't lose once. We are the underdogs.

"The respect I have for Arsenal, what they have done the last few years. I know the manager, the players, the quality, how they compete in every circumstance, that's the biggest job we have.

"They have been the best team in this country, in Europe, so far. Beating Arsenal once is so difficult, imagine beating them twice in a few weeks. We have to rest.

"I would like to say to my fans - respect Arsenal a lot, they are an extraordinary team. Come join us from minute one because the players will do the maximum."

Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior accused his players of lacking mental strength as they slipped to a third successive Premier League defeat in addition to a humiliating Champions League exit to Paris St Germain.

Rosenior said: "It was not good enough in the second half. We didn't start well. Had moments to clear the box and keep the ball, but we didn't.

"Then it's a similar story for the past month now in terms of dealing with setbacks. If you go down against teams as good as this, what you have to do for the next five minutes is to stay in the game. It ended up being a really, really difficult second half."

"I am accountable. This is a group. It's something we need to improve. It starts with your habits and values. I can't say there was a lack of effort. But there was a lack of confidence in the second half.

"We have to improve. We are in a difficult place at the moment and we have got another huge game next week.

"When you make these errors, the feeling and flow of the game changes. We have to make sure we need to do better in those moments if you want to win a game of football."

Rosenior admitted his side missed the presence of Enzo Fernandez, who was serving the second match of his club-imposed suspension for the comments he made to the Argentine media, but said he stands by the decision.

He said: "Hindsight is 20-20, Enzo is a top player and honestly he is a top character and I am looking forward to having him back.

"But sometimes you make decisions not based on the short-term, you make decisions based on what you want to see long-term."

Chelsea went into this game on a horrible run of form that had seen them lose back-to-back league games and also suffer a humiliating Champions League exit to Paris St Germain.

But they were the better side in the first half with Cole Palmer, eager to impress against the club that sold him to Chelsea, a lively presence in the opening 10 minutes and twice hitting the side-netting of Gianluigi Donnarumma's goal.

The Blues' bright start looked to have been rewarded with a superb finish from Marc Cucrella midway through the first period after a mazy run from Joao Pedro teed up the full-back.

But the Spain international was adjudged to have been narrowly offside after blasting past Donnarumma.

After that reprieve, City slowly grew into the game towards halftime with Robert Sanchez reacting well to smother a Bernardo Silva shot after good work from Nico O'Reilly and Jeremy Doku.

But it was all City in the second half thanks to two goals in six minutes just after the restart, first from O'Reilly's powerful header and the second from a smart finish by former Chelsea academy graduate Marc Guehi.

The lively Doku fired in the third 20 minutes from time when he won the ball off Moises Caicedo and barrelled his way into the box before blasting the ball into the bottom corner.

With the away fans singing 'are you watching Arsenal', City spent the rest of the game toying with beleaguered Blues who struggled to get out of their own half and looked nothing like a team that has cost over billion pounds to assemble.

Antonie Semenyo almost added a fourth goal with a shot that was just wide before Erland Haaland's late header was clawed away by Sanchez as Chelsea at least kept the score down to the three on a chastening afternoon for under-pressure boss Liam Rosenior.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1) Sanchez; Gusto (Acheampong 87), Fofana, Hato, Cucurella; Caicedo (Essudo 80), Andrey Santos; Estevao (Garnacho 66), Palmer, Neto; Joao Pedro (Delap 80).

Man City (4-2-3-1) Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, O’Reilly (Ait Norri 60); Bernardo Silva (Kovacic 80), Rodri; Semenyo, Cherki (Foden 75), Doku (Savinho 75); Haaland.

Referee: Chris Kavanagh