Guardiola loses faith in City's Arsenal chase

Pep Guardiola admitted Manchester City cannot think about catching Arsenal in the English Premier League title race after their winless run extended to three matches.

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Guardiola's side wasted a chance to put pressure on Arsenal as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Brighton & Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium on Jan 7.

Erling Haaland drilled in his 150th goal for City with a penalty late in the first half, but the Norway striker was guilty of several misses, with Bernardo Silva and Rayan Cherki also squandering opportunities.

Hampered by injuries to several defenders, City cracked in the second half as Kaoru Mitoma's first goal since September dealt a huge blow to their title hopes.

Second-placed City are five points behind leaders Arsenal, who can extend the gap to eight points if they beat Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium on Jan 8 in a match that took place after press time.

"Of course, if you don't win games we cannot think about these things," Guardiola said when asked if City were still in the title hunt.

Guardiola bemoaned City's wasted chances as Brighton joined Chelsea and Sunderland in successfully frustrating the Spaniard over the last three matches.