Pep Guardiola, manager of Manchester City, has sent a harsh warning to Arsenal and Liverpool in the Premier League title race this season. It comes as the current champions have yet to launch their campaign following their success the previous year.

In May, Guardiola guided the squad to a historic treble, winning the Champions League, Premier League, and FA Cup. Moving on, it was difficult to motivate another drive for this campaign, but the Spaniard had no idea how it would turn out.

Seven of their seventeen games have ended in multiple point losses, dropping them to fourth place in the table behind Arsenal, Liverpool, and Aston Villa. Following their success in the Champions League, the Club World Cup arrived this week, forcing a brief stop in their campaign.

A win over Fluminense secured their World Championship championship, 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 say.

“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.” We had a difficult time getting here, but once there, we did excellently. Now that it’s Christmas, go out and buy another book and get back to writing. “The last eight years have come to an end.”

It was widely expected that he would leave, but he has warned Liverpool and Arsenal that they will remain hungry 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 explain.

“We’ve won the Premier League, the Carabao Cup, and a slew of other trophies; it’s incredible what we’ve accomplished.” On the plane today, we rejoiced, and tomorrow we shall rest. Goodison Park is not the best place to return, buy a new book, and start inventing fantastic histories. The guys out there are still eager and determined, which makes me extremely glad for many of the club’s long-term members. It’s a fantastic, gorgeous day; I never anticipated we’d be able to do this and finish with the World Cup when we came in Manchester.”