I won two Premier Leagues with Pep Guardiola - what he does next at Man City might surprise people

Former Manchester City and Leeds midfielder Fabian Delph speaks exclusively to the Manchester Evening News about Pep Guardiola and the current team

Manchester City have the quality to haul Arsenal in this season in the Premier League title race and Pep Guardiola has the drive to sign another contract extension, according to one of his former champions. The Blues have been unable to match Arsenal's pace in the first third of the campaign, and there have been doubts raised over whether Guardiola will even see out his current deal that runs to 2027.

City's manager knows how important it is not to lose further ground to the Gunners after seeing them thrash Tottenham in the North London derby a day after the Blues had been beaten at Newcastle. That weekend led Guardiola to make an astonishing 10 changes for their Champions League game for Leverkusen, with the knowledge that they cannot afford to fall any further behind this weekend as they kick off against Leeds seven points off top spot.

It will take an almighty battle against arguably the best team in Europe currently, but Fabian Delph was part of a group that slayed Liverpool when they started the 2018/19 season like a juggernaut. Guardiola's side fell to third in the table after Christmas with a defeat to Leicester, yet picked themselves up and eventually edged what will go down as the highest-quality title race in Premier League history.

There have been many changes to that team, but Guardiola and a few of Delph's former teammates are still in the squad - Bernardo Silva is leading it - and the former midfielder believes City are still capable of greatness this season. "When you've got a team that has been dominating for so many years and get a little inconsistency, people start to think it isn't as stable as it used to be but I think they've got an unbelievable squad and with the management team and Pep in the hotseat the identity and the system and the patterns are going to be the same," he told the Manchester Evening News.

"I think it's a case of getting your best players and keeping them fit and available, and rising to every occasion taking each game as it comes. There's a lot of games to play and if there's any club in the league that could go on a 10-15 game winning streak City are more than capable of that.

"Arsenal look incredible at the moment and that doesn't surprise me. I had Mikel [Arteta] at Man City so I'm not surprised in the slightest to see him do well but if they slip up it's all Man City can do is take it game by game and win as many games as they can."

Hearing Delph's assessment is a reminder of why he worked so well with Guardiola, the England international whose best time of his four years at the Etihad came when he converted into a surprise left-back to play a significant role in a team that racked up 198 points over two Premier League seasons. However much noise there is around the title race from the outside, everyone behind the gates of the City Football Academy will be focusing on small tasks ahead rather than worrying about the big picture.

Delph also has an excellent insight into Guardiola given their three years together, and reckons that as he approaches a decade at the club the coach still has the fuel that he had in his first season. As much as many are waiting for Guardiola to take a break, Delph thinks the potential success he could have with the squad may persuade him to in fact extend beyond 2027.

"Pep is a unique guy. I can tell you honestly if he didn't have that hunger and drive he just wouldn't be there. He's all or nothing. The fact that he is still here after nine or 10 years and has been so successful," he said. "He's probably looking at the squad and thinking it is young enough to go on and win a lot more trophies.

"He's probably looking at that thinking he might have another three or four years with them. He's definitely motivated. He gives 100 per cent and you can see that with his body language at the side of the pitch. Nothing has changed, Pep will be Pep and he will win stuff and charge the team forward and get what he can get out of them."

Guardiola will be hoping for a lot more on Saturday than he got in midweek against Leverkusen, although Delph may end up watching through his fingers. As strong as his bond is with City, he also loves Leeds having come through the youth team there to first make his name as a professional.

It is probably for the best then that he will be thousands of miles from the Etihad on Saturday, watching the game in Korea on punditry duties alongside Nedum Onouha for the club's Match Day Live show. Usually produced from the Etihad or the training ground, Seoul is the first leg of a tour that will include fan events and meeting Official Supporter Clubs as well as match screenings.

Delph got a taste of City's growing popularity in this part of the world after he retired when he went travelling with his family in Asia and was shocked by the number of people who would recognise him and come up to talk about his memories. There will be more chance to discuss those with a crowd on Saturday, and then hope for the best from the game itself.

"The club is growing. It's crazy. I went travelling for six months when I retired and the amount of City fans that spotted me was crazy. I went round South East Asia and everywhere I went people were spotting me. It just goes to show that people are keeping an eye out for Man City," he said.

"Especially when I'm coming to Korea to do stuff like this, it gives you the opportunity to reflect and look back on things that have happened, trophies that we've won. All the ups and the downs from my individual time at City, all great memories and a feeling of joy when I think back to those times.

"I've got great memories from being at both clubs, especially Leeds because it's the club that I came through and the club that moulded me as a young man and set me on my path. A club of that magnitude needs to be in the Premier League. The fanbase is absolutely outstanding and it's definitely a club that needs to be playing year in, year out in the Premier League.

"I've got a close bond with them but likewise with City. On the back of the last two games for City, you'd like to see them do well. I'm completely sat on the fence for this one."