John Stones embraced Kalvin Phillips after Man City’s win over Chelsea (Picture: Getty)
Manchester City defender John Stones has warned Arsenal that there is ‘still a long way to go’ in the Premier League title race.
Pep Guardiola’s champions – who have won four of the last five Premier League titles – won 1-0 at Chelsea on Thursday night to cut Arsenal’s lead at the top of the table to five points after the Gunners were held to a 0-0 draw by Newcastle.
Stones put in a colossus performance at Stamford Bridge, registering the most touches of any player (102), completing 98 per cent of his passes (85/87), winning all of his aerial duels (4/4), and making the most clearances of any City player.
The 28-year-old England international centre-back spoke to Sky Sports following City’s crucial 1-0 victory.
‘We don’t focus on the table, as the manager said before this game there were 66 points to play for,’ he said.
‘There’s still a long way to go and we’ve got to take it game by game. We’ve got to keep the momentum going.
‘If we perform like we did today I’m sure we’ll have a fighting chance at the end of the season.’
City boss Guardiola also spoke about the title race after the win in west London and told the BBC: ‘Well it could be seven points, or 10 or eight, but now the gap is five points.
‘We have to look at ourselves but I have to admit, the way they are playing, Arsenal deserve to be there.
‘It’s not just about the points, the way they are playing. Even when they lost against [Manchester] United and drew with Newcastle, the quality and the level they are playing is so good.’
City are back in Premier League action on January 14 when they face Manchester United at Old Trafford while the Gunners take on north London rivals Tottenham the following day.
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