Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has issued a strong warning to Arsenal and Liverpool in the Premier League title chase this season. It comes as the current champions have failed to get their campaign started after their success the previous year.

Guardiola led the team to a historic treble in May, when they won the Champions League, Premier League, and FA Cup. Moving on, motivating another drive for this campaign was a difficult task, but the Spaniard had no idea how it would turn out.

Seven of their 17 games have resulted in multiple point losses, leaving them fourth in the table behind Arsenal, Liverpool, and Aston Villa. Following their Champions League success, the Club World Cup arrived this week, causing a little pause in their campaign.

A victory over Fluminense sealed their title as World Champions, prompting Guardiola to declare that he has won everything with the club. “I would like to say we had the feeling we would close the chapter, we won all the titles, there’s nothing else to win, I had a feeling the job was done, it was over,” he went on to remark.

“Enzo [Maresca], Mikel [Arteta], all my staff, all the players from day one, Vincent to Kyle as captains, all players mentioned, Joao [Cancelo], Cole Palmer, Riyad [Mahrez], Ilkay [Gundogan], all of them helped us achieve something incredible to be here and play this tournament.” It was challenging to get here, but once here, we performed admirably. Now that it’s Christmas, go out and get another book and start writing again. It’s the end of the last eight years.”

It has been seen as a probable exit, yet he has cautioned Liverpool and Arsenal that they will remain driven to win more titles in the future. “When I close the chapter it’s for eight years of incredible work behind the scenes, I had a feeling all the titles you can win we have done it,” he went on to say.

“We’ve won the Premier League, the Carabao Cup, and a slew of other trophies; it’s incredible what we’ve accomplished.” Today we rejoice on the plane, and tomorrow we will rest. Goodison Park is not the finest spot to return, buy a new book, and begin writing wonderful histories. The guys out there are still hungry and determined, which makes me very happy for many people who have been involved with the club for many years. It’s a lovely, beautiful day; I never imagined when we arrived in Manchester that we’d be able to do this and conclude with the World Cup.”