Revenge Against Arsenal

Whenever many fans mentioned the Premier League, their first impression was often the Big Four, followed by the Christmas Devil Fixtures.

The Premier League was the only one of Europe's top five leagues without a Winter Break.

This year's Christmas schedule would see Man City play four matches in just ten days, starting on the twenty-sixth. That was a huge challenge for any team. Every club had to make thorough preparations for the Christmas schedule in advance, and Man City was no exception.

After the sixteenth round of the Premier League, Guardiola held a meeting with the coaching staff. Su Dong, Kompany, and Zabaleta attended as representatives of the dressing room.

The main topic was the Christmas schedule.

Guardiola's chief adviser, Olympic water polo champion Manel Estiarte, began by reviewing last season's Christmas schedule. He believed Man City had not played particularly well, although last season they had only played two matches in three days over Christmas.

It had been difficult, but not overly so.

This season was obviously different. They had to play four matches in ten days, and the difficulty had risen exponentially.

More importantly, the team had to consider not only the Christmas schedule, but also what came after it.

The Premier League had no Winter Break. Even after completing the Christmas schedule, there was no chance to rest and recover. They had to continue straight into the second half of the season, which was a tremendous test for any team.

Estiarte addressed the pressure facing the coaching staff from several angles, including players' psychological aversion to the relentless schedule, the density of the fixtures, and the difficulty of adjusting the club's existing squad.

In summary, there was only one sentence: it was difficult—extremely difficult!

No matter how hard it was, Man City had to withstand it.