Guardiola's future overshadows Manchester City's title collapse

Earlier this week we reported that Arsenal's title was built on control before Manchester City slipped at Bournemouth. This follow-up is about what the Bournemouth draw did to the summer story. Pep Guardiola said he still has "one more year of contract" and that he would talk to chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak when the season finished, while the BBC says Enzo Maresca is poised to succeed him.

What Guardiola said after the draw

Guardiola did not make the situation sound settled. "I could say that I have one more year of contract and with the conversations I have had for many years, always from my experience when you announce - whatever you announce - during the competition, [it] is a bad, bad result," he said. He added: "the first person I have to talk to is my chairman because we both decided when we finish the season we will sit and we will talk. It is as simple as that and after we will take the decision."

That is the key point here. There is real uncertainty, but there is also no official departure in the brief, just a manager saying the decision comes after the season. The reporting around Manchester City leans toward change, with Enzo Maresca named as the likely successor, yet Guardiola's own words keep the final call in the future tense.

Why the draw still matters for the title picture

The football result is not a side note. Bournemouth's 1-1 draw with Manchester City meant Arsenal finished on 82 points, with City second on 77. Arsenal are champions after a 22-year wait, and Pep Guardiola's public comments only sharpened the sense that this was the end of one cycle and the start of another.

City had the title in their own hands 15 days ago, but the draw at Bournemouth closed the door. Guardiola also congratulated Arsenal directly, saying: "On behalf of Man City, congratulations to Arsenal, Mikel and all the backroom staff on the Premier League that they deserve."

The title is settled. The next Manchester City story is the one Guardiola opened himself, when he said the final decision would come after he and his chairman sit down at season's end.