Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta's true feelings on title race clear amid Liverpool advantage

Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta have reflected on their team's chances in the Premier League title race after losing ground on Liverpool. The Reds recorded a 2-1 comeback win over Brighton on Saturday thanks to second-half goals from Cody Gakpo and match-winner Mohamed Salah.

Liverpool moved to the top of the Premier League table thanks to that victory over the Seagulls. Arne Slot's side capitalised on defeats from Arsenal and Manchester City on the same day to claim a two-point lead at the top of the standings with 10 games now played.

Arsenal dopped points earlier in the day on Saturday with a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle. The Gunners are now seven points adrift of Liverpool in the table - and are also behind Nottingham Forest - and could fall to as low as sixth by close of play on Sunday depending on results for Aston Villa and Chelsea.

Arteta was asked about the title race after Arsenal's reverse at St. James' Park which, at the time, saw them four points behind Liverpool before the kick-off against Brighton. "I understand it but after eight, nine or 10 games last year we didn't [talk about it] and we won't talk about it now," Arteta told reporters.

"It's about how you react to that. We're not going to find the right words or answers to describe how we feel, so we have to put it on that field on Wednesday night against Inter [Milan]."

City also fell to a surprising defeat on Saturday, losing 2-1 away at Bournemouth, with Josko Gvardiol scoring a late consolation after strikes from Antoine Semenyo and Evanlison. Liverpool now have a two-point lead over City after 10 games going into next weekend - the final matches before the November's international break.

Guardiola was asked about the defeat to Bournemouth and explained how City will attempt to regroup from the latest setback in the title race. "Sometimes we have to accept that the opponents make a type of game," said the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager.

"Sometimes you handle it, and sometimes you struggle a little bit. Today [Saturday] it [the struggle] happened.

"[The players] make an incredible effort," added Guardiola." They are players that are not in the best way and they made an incredible effort to be here.

"Manu [Akanji] and Nathan [Ake] were not in a good condition. Until the last moment, I didn't know Nathan could play, he said I want to try [despite injury].

‌"During the season, sometimes this kind of thing happens more than during other seasons... We have to handle it. People will come back and, sooner or later, the team will be back."