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Pep Guardiola admits he has been impressed ‘more and more’ by Chelsea in their bid to keep up with Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.

Manchester City are now two points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal after their nervy 5-4 victory over Fulham on Tuesday evening.

Guardiola’s side were 5-1 ahead by the 54th minute but conceded three goals in the space of 21 minutes to set up a tense finish at Craven Cottage.

Arsenal have the chance to restore their five-point lead at the top of the table if they beat Brentford at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night.

Chelsea, meanwhile, will move back to a point behind City if they win away to Leeds United on Wednesday evening.

Enzo Maresca’s side earned a point from their 1-1 draw with Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Sunday and delivered an impressive performance with 10 men after Moises Caicedo was sent off in the first half.

Guardiola maintains that overhauling Arsenal this season will be ‘difficult’ and believes Chelsea are also credible title challengers.

‘Arsenal are so strong and so solid,’ Guardiola said after City’s win against Fulham.

‘So I know what we have to do, I know if we drop points it will be so difficult, we have to put in our mindset that it will be difficult but at the same time the Premier League is so long.

‘I promise you I am the oldest manager in the Premier League and have enough experience to make a long, long run to try to fight to win the Premier League. It is so long.

‘Chelsea impress me more and more every day with Enzo [Maresca], but it’s long.

‘Premier League is so long, many things will happen. We won six Premier Leagues, four or five when we were December, January or February we were behind.

‘The team who wins the Premier League is the team who grows during the months and this is what we try to do. No injuries, it’s so long.

‘But at the same time, if we push, we will be better and push ourselves and control the situations better, the emotions and we will see what happens.’

Ahead of Chelsea’s trip to Leeds, Maresca explained why he is reluctant to consider his side as Premier League title challengers.

‘We are in December, if in February or March we are where we are now, we are going to be title contenders. But if in February or March we are not there… so for me it’s too early,’ Maresca said.

‘From [Leeds] on, we have eight games just in December. In January we have eight games. So they are the two months that are more complicated.

‘If we are able to survive and be there in February or March, for sure we’re going to be there. But now, I don’t know where we’re going to be in February.’

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Squeeze singer-songwriter Glenn Tilbrook is spearheading a grassroots effort to buy back a derelict Charlton pub and return it to the heart of the community.

The much-loved White Swan in The Village suddenly closed in 2020 just before Covid lockdowns were enforced.

Now a newly-formed charity, White Swan Music and Arts, has launched a crowdfunder to raise an initial deposit to buy back the Victorian two-storey building and prise it from the hands of developers.

One of the top crowdfunding rewards is a truly special one: an intimate VIP gig performed by Tilbrook himself.

Tilbrook has been the lead singer of Squeeze since their formation in 1974, enjoying chart success with singles Cool for Cats and Up the Junction.

Organisers say it’s a rare chance to see the musician up close, in the kind of small, characterful venue where his own career first took shape — and where he hopes future generations will get their start.

The campaign begins in earnest today, when organisers host a crowdfunding video launch featuring a community ensemble of local residents, business owners, park runners, musicians as young as six – joined by Tilbrook himself, who jokes that he is ‘a little older,’ and his son Leon, also a local musician.

For Tilbrook, the cause is personal.

He said: ‘Over fifty years ago, the first gig that myself and Jools Holland got was playing in the Morden Arms in Greenwich. We soon had a residency there and started getting gigs in other pubs, gradually. It was great fun and helped us to find ourselves.

‘Places like this are vital for young musicians to learn their craft, playing to friends and neighbours. I hope that The White Swan will be able to host another generation of musicians soon.’

If successful, the Crowdfunder will allow the charity to purchase and restore the pub, reviving it as both a neighbourhood local and a creative hub.

Plans include a multi-purpose arts space above the bar with digital content facilities, rehearsal rooms and a small stage designed to give young performers their first taste of live gigging – a potential stepping stone, organisers say, to eventually packing out the O2 Arena down the road.

To donate, visit the charity’s Crowdfunder page here.

In May, Metro partnered with the Mayor of London to celebrate the capital’s independent venues by launching the Grassroots Music Tube Map.

Backed by the likes of Billy Bragg and Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson, the reimagined map shines a light on the artists and locations that define culture in the city.

Each Tube line reflects a different element of that heritage: the Piccadilly line features contemporary artists; the Northern has music legends; the Jubilee features albums and the Bakerloo contains much-loved songs about the city.

WASHINGTON / LONDON (IT BOLTWISE) – Despite meeting 2025 recruiting goals, the U.S. military faces a serious challenge: the brain drain of highly specialized talent to the private sector is endangering combat readiness. Particularly affected are experts in cyber, AI and logistics, whose loss will impact the ability to deal with threats from peer adversaries […]

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