Kolo Toure hails Arsenal after Pep Guardiola misses Man City press conference

Manchester City’s Kolo Toure hailed Arsenal on Friday after Pep Guardiola pulled out of his press conference at the last minute.

City manager Guardiola was due to face the media but was not present due to ‘personal’ reasons as assistant coach Toure stepped up instead.

Toure, who played for both Arsenal and City before beginning his coaching career in 2017, was asked about the Gunners by one of the reporters.

Toure was quizzed if the Premier League leaders were feeling the pressure in the title race, with second-placed now City just two points behind after Mikel Arteta’s side lost to Aston Villa last week.

‘We know the quality of Arsenal,’ Toure said. ‘They have a really strong squad, a fantastic manager.

‘But it’s all down to us. We have the best manager in the world, he’s doing an incredible job every day.

‘His passion for the game, he loves the players, he loves his staff, and we know he will take us as far as we can to winning the league. We just focus on what we can do really, not on what Arsenal are doing. Every game is like a final for us.’

Why did Guardiola miss the press conference?

City have confirmed that Guardiola missed Friday’s press conference because of a ‘personal matter’.

Pepijn Lijnders usually steps in when Guardiola is unavailable but he had a scheduled day off which saw Toure face the media this time around.

‘Pep [Guardiola] is fine,’ Toure explained. ‘It’s just his own matter that didn’t bring him here, but apart from that everything is fine for him.

‘He’ll be back, for sure… Absolutely [fine for the game against Crystal Palace on Sunday].’

Toure provides Stones and Rodri fitness update

Meanwhile, Toure has provided a fitness update on City duo John Stones and Rodri ahead of this weekend’s trip to Crystal Palace.

‘The players are off today – tomorrow when everyone comes back, we will know more about the players,’ Toure added.

‘It was John’s thigh. That’s the problem. I’m sure it wasn’t something too big and I think he will be back soon.

‘Rodri is training well, and his rehab is going well. He is looking sharper and sharper.

‘For sure we won’t see him for the weekend but he’s going through the process.’