Pep Guardiola exit highlights alarming Liverpool reality Arne Slot cannot ignore

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And on Friday came confirmation Pep Guardiola will be leaving Manchester City after Sunday's conclusion of the Premier League season.Having over a decade at the Etihad won six Premier League titles, one Champions League, a FIFA Club World Cup, a UEFA Super Cup, three FA Cups and five League Cups, it strengthened the claim for Guardiola to be regarded the best manager in history after his previous successes at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.Of course, City's achievements over that period will always have a question mark hanging over them until the seemingly interminable investigation into their 115 charges for alleged financial rule breaches between 2009 and 2018 is finally resolved.Beyond dispute, though, is the manner in which City won the majority of their silverware raised the bar in both the Premier League and European competition.READ MORE: Arne Slot responds to Mohamed Salah social media post and makes Liverpool playing style pointREAD MORE: Liverpool teenager Rio Ngumoha given England call-up ahead of World CupAnd at their peak only one team could consistently live with them - Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool. While the title battle of 2018/19 is unlikely to ever be repeated - the Reds losing out to City by a point despite taking 97 from 38 games - the tussle three years later wasn't far behind, City again prevailing by a single point after Klopp's side claimed 92.They remain the only two occasions in top-flight history a team has reached the 90-point landmark and still not won the title."What happened with the Jurgen period and our period has been the biggest, biggest (rivalry) because, except the first season, we split the Premier League between them and ourselves," said Guardiola in November."Always I've said I enjoyed a lot this healthy rivalry that we had, both clubs.

I always had the feeling of how much we respect each other in terms of Jurgen's side and Pep's side. That belongs to Liverpool and ourselves."Klopp, of course, has long gone from the Premier League, taking with him the high-octane football that formed the basis of their titanic tussles with Guardiola's side.Not that Arne Slot's more measured approach was any less effective last season as Liverpool romped to a record-equalling 20th championship.This time around, though, things have changed.

Teams are now much less likely to echo the possession style of City or the intensity of Liverpool, with Arsenal the standard bearers after their boss Mikel Arteta anticipated and then helped accelerate the new era.Given the Gunners have ended as title winners for the first time in 22 years and will offer a major threat to holders Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final next week, they are being rewarded for their long-term vision.By contrast, Liverpool were not ready for what was coming next, Slot admitting on Friday that a compromise is going to have to be reached regards transfer business in the summer. For the first time since taking charge, he has gone two years without winning the Premier League title.