‘It’s not over’ - Guardiola vows to chase Arsenal despite nine-point gap after West Ham sucker punch

Pep Guardiola has refused to accept that Manchester City's Premier League title challenge is over, despite the gap between them and Arsenal extending to nine points following a frustrating 1-1 draw at West Ham United on Saturday evening.

City had the chances to claim all three points at the London Stadium but were denied by a combination of heroic goalkeeping from Mads Hermansen and a Marc Guehi miss from six yards in the 94th minute.

The result came hours after Arsenal beat Everton to extend their lead at the top of the table, making it one of the most damaging days of City's season.

City took the lead in the 31st minute through a fortunate Bernardo Silva goal. His attempted cross for Erling Haaland miscued and looped over a wrong-footed Hermansen into the far corner.

However, West Ham levelled just four minutes later. Konstantinos Mavropanos powered a header home from a Jarrod Bowen corner as Gianluigi Donnarumma failed to deal with the delivery.

City dominated the remainder of the game but could not find a winner. Hermansen made five crucial saves in the second half, including a stunning stop to deny a Haaland volley, before Guehi's late miss ended City's hopes of snatching all three points.

Speaking after the game, Guardiola acknowledged the difficulty of City's position but refused to give up on the title race, pointing to their game in hand and a forthcoming home fixture against Arsenal.

Guardiola also pointed to a lack of cutting edge as a key reason for City's dropped points in recent weeks, noting that his side had created enough chances at West Ham, Sunderland, Chelsea, Brighton and Nottingham Forest to have won each game.

The draw also has implications at the bottom of the table. West Ham's point lifted them out of the relegation zone for the first time in 2026, moving them into 17th place above Nottingham Forest on goal difference.

City's attention now turns to the UEFA Champions League, where they face Real Madrid in the second leg of their Round of 16 tie on Wednesday, having lost the first leg 3-0 at the Bernabeu.

On the domestic front, their home game against Arsenal later in the season now takes on enormous significance in the title race.

With 11 games remaining and a game in hand, Guardiola believes the mathematics still give City a chance, but Arsenal will need to drop points for the gap to close in any meaningful way.