Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said he feels critics of the Premier League champions want the club wiped "from the face of the Earth" over their alleged breaches of financial rules.
City, who have dominated English football since Guardiola's arrival in 2016, are in engaged in a legal hearing with the Premier League, who have levelled 115 charges against the club relating to financial regulations.
Guardiola has claimed previously that some of the club's rivals hope to see them found guilty and he appears in no doubt they would expect punishment to be severe. He brought up the matter unprompted ahead of Sunday's clash with Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium while talking about the tendency of people to overly criticise isolated bad performances.
"During a season, you can say, 'Oh, it was a bad season'," said Guardiola. "But for performances some people say, 'Oh, it's a disgrace, it is a disaster, it's unacceptable'. No, during 90 minutes it's one bad afternoon when they were better.
"But I would say, I'm sorry, I want to defend my club, especially in these modern days when everyone is expecting us not to be relegated, to be disappeared off the face of the Earth, the world, that we have better afternoons than the opponents. That's why we win a lot."
City face 80 breaches of financial rules between 2009 and 2018, plus a further 35 of failing to cooperate with a Premier League investigation. The club have been accused of failing to provide accurate financial information, including revenue from sponsors and salary details of managers and players.
City vehemently deny any wrongdoing.
On Sunday, City saw their perfect start to the Premier League season ended by Arsenal – widely considered their biggest challengers to retain their title this season – but John Stones' equaliser with the last move of the match at least salvaged a point in a riveting 2-2 draw.
The draw, in what was more of a slugfest than a chess match, left Guardiola's men with 13 points after five matches, while Mikel Arteta's Arsenal, who played the entire second half with 10 men following Leandro Trossard's red card, are fourth with 11.
Erling Haaland had put City ahead in the ninth minute when Savinho threaded a beautiful through ball that the Norwegian sprinted onto then slotted past David Raya.
It was Haaland's 10th league goal of the season and 100th for the club across all competitions from 105 games, equalling Cristiano Ronaldo's record as the fastest to reach a century of goals for a European team. Haaland celebrated by grabbing a City scarf and waving it aloft.
The joy was short-lived. Ricardo Calafiori cancelled out Haaland's goal with his first for Arsenal, a screamer from about 20 metres out in the 22nd minute.
Gabriel then put the visitors ahead in first-half injury time when he darted in to leap high and head home Bukayo Saka's corner.
Arsenal were reduced to 10 men when Trossard was shown a second yellow and sent off just before half time for kicking the ball away and delaying the restart.
Arsenal looked poised for their first win at the Etihad Stadium since 2015 before substitute Stones prodded in from close range in the 98th minute, with their 28th shot of the second half. It was the joint highest shots by a side on record (from 2003-04) in a single half in the Premier League.
"I think over the years, we've learned as a team to stick together, no matter who's playing, and to always be ready," Stones said. "I know the manager emphasises that. I'm sure you've heard before ... I tried to go on there, get in the right areas, and it fell for me luckily. And you know, I'm really pleased to score a goal like that."
Despite being seconds away from victory at the Etihad, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said he was proud of his team for the way they dug in and defended in the face of constant pressure from City.
"We were thrown into a context of the game that makes it almost impossible for 56 minutes," said Arteta of Trossard's red card. "I'm so proud of them. You cannot be thrown in a more difficult situation and the way we handled the situation is unbelievable."
