We are not the Invincibles says Pep

Pep Guardiola has reiterated that the title race is only in its embryonic stages and is refusing to get carried away with his team’s start.

The Blues have been lauded in the media for some of the breath-taking football that has swept aside teams this season.

When asked if City could possibly emulate Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’ he said: “We are five points in front of United. How many games left? How many points? 84! 84 points to play and we are five points in front.

“If we play like we have been doing until May, we have a chance [of winning the title] - but who can assure me that will happen?

“Even best teams in the world would find it difficult to maintain what we have done in the last two months.

“We will have injuries, many different circumstances. March and April is the best time to talk about this.”

The Blues’ boss says he is expecting nothing less than a difficult test against Arsenal on Sunday, particularly after Wednesday’s thrilling win over Napoli.

He said: “It’s Arsenal next, so it’s complicated. It is the last game before international break and hopefully we can recover well after a tough performance in Napoli.

“What matters is to play good on Sunday and win the game. The main thing is win the next one. We did it the last one and now we have to do it again.

“We try to do a good performance for our fans, to enjoy 90 minutes. Of course, we need our fans’ support again.

“The Champions League was so, so tough and Arsenal didn’t play their normal squad in their Europa League game, so they have rested for one week. Our supporters can help us with that.

“People say we are unbeatable - we are beatable. Some team will beat us. It’s how we react. I want to see.

“The Invincibles record belongs to Arsene Wenger. We are not going to do it. It’s something fantastic. We don’t want to break this record.”

Pep also said he is an admirer or Mesut Ozil who he feels receives some unfair criticism from time to time.

He said of Ozil: “I don’t have any doubts, in terms of quality. I enjoy him. I have no doubts about his quality. The big men get criticised.

"I admire him a lot. Maybe his body language doesn’t help him too much but sometimes body language can confuse the media. He’s a great player.”