Manchester City were crowned Premier League champions again after beating West Ham on the final day of the season. City midfielder Rodri pointed to the goalless draw against Arsenal as the “difference” in the title race as he says The Gunners just wanted a draw. Rodri also says City continued to “believe” they could claim another Premier League title.
Rodri says Manchester City’s “mentality” gave them the edge in the Premier League title race and wouldn’t have seen them “just want a draw” as Arsenal did at the Etihad.
City won the title for the fourth year in a row after beating West Ham 3-1 on the final day of the season.
The Gunners finished two points behind after only dropping points twice since the turn of the year.
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One of those games was the goalless draw at the Etihad in late March that saw Arsenal have just 27 per cent possession as they denied City victory.
Asked how City have kept going and won again, Rodri told Optus Sport: “To be honest, it’s in here [points to his head]. It’s the mentality.
“[There are] great players all over the league, all over the clubs.
“Arsenal also they deserve, they did an unbelievable season, but I think the difference was in here [points to his head].
“When they came here, they faced us at the Etihad, I saw them and said ‘Ah, these guys, they don’t want to beat us, they just want a draw’.
“And that mentality, I don’t think we would do it the same way.
“And we caught them. At the end, if you give us one point, we will win the last seven, eight games even though it’s so tough. So I think it comes down to mentality.”
City are the first side to win four Premier League titles in a row.
They ended on 91 points after yet another impressive finish to the season under manager Pep Guardiola.
“We believed,” said Rodri.
“You believe because you did it, but we know how tough it is to do it. We have to go out on all the pitches, the Tottenham game we had never won there so it’s not easy to implement this.
“But every season, the manager, the players, find a way to do it. Even myself, comparing my first season I came here to now, you grow a lot in this sense.”
City will look to do the double as they face Manchester United in the FA Cup final next weekend.
“It’s so important for us to do the double,” added Rodri.