Pep Guardiola's quiet U-turn from emphatic 7-word reply sends clear message to Arsenal and Liverpool

It is just over a month since Pep Guardiola said he was 99.99 per cent certain that Manchester City wouldn't win a Treble.

You wouldn't get a bookmaker offering such generous odds then, and you certainly wouldn't now, but it was hard to fault the reasoning. "Never, never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever has [anyone] done it," said the City boss.

There have been winces from players and staff when the prospect of another Treble is brought up, and the usual line from Guardiola and the squad is that they do not like to look further than the game in front of them. By not filling their heads with distractions, they are more able to focus on the task in hand.

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However well that has worked, the reality is that the Treble is coming onto the horizon. It may remain mathematically improbable, but it is only 17 games away and that figure will be in single figures if City walk out of April with their hopes still intact in three competitions.

No wonder then that even if there is not an active promotional push for the Treble it is still starting to occupy minds more at the Etihad. As remote as pulling it off remains, the crunch time is approaching and the league game with Arsenal at home in under a fortnight could see City surge closer to their target in the Premier League.

All managers and players hope they emerge from the international break unscathed, yet it was interesting to hear Guardiola come out and ask for his players to be sensible with upcoming friendlies. The team had already spoken about the need to keep themselves fresh for the upcoming games.

That isn't an aim to be fresh for Arsenal, but for