Pep Guardiola calls on Man City fans to ‘respect’ Arsenal as bottle celebration goes viral
Man City stormed to a 3-0 win over Chelsea on Sunday evening to close the gap on leaders Arsenal
Pep Guardiola has called on Manchester City fans to “respect Arsenal ” ahead of their Premier League title six-pointer at the Etihad Stadium next weekend. The recommendation comes after a supporter’s celebration, which utilised an Arsenal-branded bottle, went viral following City’s third goal in their rampant win at Chelsea , which closed the gap at the top to six points. The fan was seen sucking on the plastic lid as broadcast cameras panned to the away end, sending a not so subtle message to the league leaders who have finished second in the table for three consecutive years.
👀🍼 pic. twitter. com/jdd2tGily4 — Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 12, 2026 While not referencing the incident directly, Guardiola hailed Arsenal’s quality and said that fans must respect such an “extraordinary team” who they defied doubters to beat in last month’s Carabao Cup final.
He told Sky Sports: "The question of this week will be that we are playing next week against a team who in 49 games, lost three. In the Champions League games, they didn't lose once. I know how difficult it is.
They've won all the games except one, which they drew. "Playing the Carabao Cup with Man City completely as underdogs - there was not one person in the country who bet £1 on us - that's much better. "Now it will be a bit different.