Why Pep Guardiola delayed Man City contract decision amid Arsenal title race

Pep Guardiola's decision to delay extending his stay at Manchester City stemmed from a personal injury the Catalonian suffered.

On Tuesday evening, it was widely reported that Guardiola is set to sign a new contract with the current Premier League champions. City are expected to keep their man for another year with the option of a further 12 months inserted into his new deal.

The decision comes after months of speculation surrounding the future of Guardiola. The six-time Premier League champion's current deal is due to expire at the end of this season and the City manager was believed to be stalling on extending.

It was suggested the decision for Txiki Begiristain to step down at the end of the campaign was preventing Guardiola from committing but the Manchester Evening News reports that was not the reason for the delay. Our colleagues in the North West believe that Guardiola's delay came due to a back injury which had been causing him significant pain.

This required surgery and, it is believed, Guardiola needed to convince himself that extending would be right for both him and his family - especially considering the Catalonian wants to manage an international team before retiring. Should he complete both next season and the season after that, Guardiola will have managed the current champions for 11 seasons.

Guardiola's impending new contract is set to be met with disappointment from Arsenal fans considering Mikel Arteta's men have been pipped twice to the title by City in recent years. Earlier this season, a late John Stones equaliser secured a point for the hosts against a ten-man Gunners side.

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