Guardiola's impact at Man City could soon end Premier League careers of Mourinho, Conte and Wenger

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  • Pep Guardiola's side have gone undefeated this season in the league.

    Pep Guardiola is no villain, but it is easy to imagine him laughing like an evil genius every time he has perused the back pages over the last few days.

    His Premier League ‘rivals’ are cracking up in ways that are every headline writer’s dream. Arsene Wenger’s bizarre and crass reference to suicide after Arsenal hung on to draw with Chelsea. The spat between Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho that has evolved from mentions of clownery to dementia, and most recently allusions to match-fixing.

    Guardiola has said nary a word to stir the pot. All he has needed to do is sit back watch his rivals self-destruct, perhaps while stroking an evil cat, 15 points above everyone else.

    Manchester City have been so good, so untouchable this season, that characters as highly strung as Wenger, Conte and Mourinho have inevitably borne out their frustrations in the media. The Premier League title is so far out of reach that it may as well already be under lock and key at the Etihad.

    And though Conte, Mourinho and Wenger – especially Wenger – have all experienced disappointment before, they may very well decide that life living in Pep’s empire is not worth the hassle. Guardiola’s dominance could end the Premier League careers of all three by the summer.

    With or without Guardiola’s influence, their futures were hardly certain. Wenger will be halfway through a two-year contract, which was one last attempt at recapturing the glory days. Conte has serious misgivings about Chelsea’s transfer policy – he resigned from Juventus for the same reason – and it was already assumed that he will leave this year. As for Mourinho, his flirtatious comments about Paris Saint-Germain read like someone who is formulating a plausible back-up plan when his time with Manchester United ends in flames. It could be argued that he is already smouldering.

    If they are all swaying over a decision, City are the force of nature that will push through the winds of change at each club.

    But if supporters are sick of Mourinho’s antics, Wenger’s moaning and Conte’s lack of commitment, then they should nevertheless be careful what, or whom, they wish for.

    City already have the golden goose in Guardiola in their clutches and are desperate to tie him down well beyond his existing three-year contract, that comes to an end in the summer of 2019.

    In contrast, if United, Chelsea and Arsenal all find themselves without a manager at the same time then they will be picking over relative scraps.

    Diego Simeone? Hardly a guarantee to leave Atletico Madrid after extending his contract. Carlo Ancelotti? Solid, but uninspiring, and underwhelming with Bayern Munich. Thomas Tuchel? Did not set the world alight with Borussia Dortmund before falling out with the board.

    In fact, if all three clubs had a blank cheque book and a genie’s magic lamp they would make plays for two managers intent on invading Pep’s planet – Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino.

    Their respective projects at Liverpool and Tottenham are just about backed by enough money and room for growth to keep them both interested in the long haul. Neither are flawless but there is a vision at both clubs that United, Chelsea and Arsenal lack, through muddled transfer policy or uncertainty over who will last at the top.

    Mourinho, Conte and Wenger, to a greater or lesser extent, are all proven winners. But the spectre of Pep may spook all of them out of the Premier League in six months’ time, and if their clubs continue to coast, Klopp and Pochettino could ghost into place as City’s most realistic rivals.

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