Manchester City midfielder Rodri has revealed the difference between City’s winning squad and Arsenal who came second in the league.
After 38 matches, Manchester City top the table, two points ahead of Arsenal who put up a good fight. The victory cemented City’s fourth consecutive Premier League title.
Speaking during the celebration, Rodri took a brutal swipe at Arsenal’s lack of title-winning mentality, using their match at the Etihad stadium as a case study.
Man City faced off with Arsenal at the Etihad on March 31, with Mikel Arteta’s team set up to frustrate City rather than win the game.
The game ended 0-0 with Arsenal enjoying just 27 per cent possession during the contest. At that time, the result allowed Liverpool to move two points clear at the top, with third-placed City a point behind Arsenal.
Rodri of Manchester City kisses the Premier League trophy after the Premier League match between Manchester City and West Ham United at Etihad Stadium (Photo by Alex Livesey – Danehouse/Getty Images)
Asked how City remain so hungry for success, Rodri told Optus Sport: ‘To be honest, I think it’s in here [points to his head]. It’s the mentality.
‘[There are] great players all over the league, all over the clubs.
‘Arsenal also they deserve [to win], they did an unbelievable season, but I think the difference was in here [points to his head again].
‘When they came here, they faced us at the Etihad, I saw them and said: “Ah, these guys, they don’t want to beat us, they just want a draw.”
‘And that mentality, I don’t think we would do it the same way.
‘And we caught them. At the end, if you give us one point, we will win the last seven, eight games even though it’s so tough. So I think [the title win] comes down to mentality.’
Asked if he sensed City would win another title after that goalless draw in late March, he added: ‘We believed. But you believe you did it, and we know how tough it is to do it.
‘We have to go out on all the pitches, the Tottenham game we had never won there so it’s not easy to implement this.
‘But every season, the manager, the players, find a way to do it. Even myself, comparing my first season I came here to now, you grow a lot in this sense [mental strength].’
City are going for a domestic double with Pep Guardiola’s team set to face Manchester United in the finals of the FA Cup at Wembley on May 25.
