Gabriel Martinelli’s late deflected winner at the Emirates saw us beaten 1-0 by Arsenal and suffer back-to-back defeats in the Premier League.
After winning our opening six matches of the campaign, we remain within touching distance of North London sides Tottenham and Arsenal.
And Guardiola says he is happy with his players as he tries to become the first manager to mastermind four successive Premier League titles.
“I have gratitude for the guys, they gave everything,” he said. “I know how disappointed they are because they are not used to it.
“It is football, it happens. We do not have to win the Premier League. No team ever has won four Premier League in a row.
“We are behind but it is October. Last season it happened but the season is long.
“We have people coming back and we will try to beat upcoming opponents like Brighton and United. We will continue.”
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Wins home and away against Arsenal last season were important as we overhauled Mikel Arteta’s side to land the title.
While there were nine goals in those two matches, this clash was a much cagier affair with neither goalkeeper severely tested and Ederson only beaten when he was wrongfooted by the deflected winner.
“It was a tight game,” Guardiola added. “Congratulations to Arsenal for the victory.
“We started really well in the first minutes, they started really well in the second half. With Martinelli they increased the rhythm.
“We didn’t create much, they didn’t create much. We defended really well, both teams. At the end one deflection was the difference.”
It was the first time that City have failed to score in the Premier League this season.
The best chances fell to Josko Gvardiol and Ake in the opening five minutes, and the City boss said that both sides’ defences were on top.
“They defended brilliantly,” he said. “How many [chances] did they have? We didn’t have much.
“It is what it is, it was a tight game. In football it happens, they did everything but football at this level the details, margins and quality are the difference.”
