Stuart Pearce would not be surprised if this is Pep Guardiola's final season at Manchester City.

Guardiola joined City in 2016 and has since won six Premier League titles, including each of the last four, two FA Cups, four EFL Cups, the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup.

The Spaniard has taken charge of 485 matches in all competitions, winning 352 of those games to boast a 72.6% win rate.

However, he is currently in the final year of his contract and has hinted in recent months that he is closer to the end of his time at City than the start of it.

When asked if he thought Guardiola was in his final season, Pearce, who managed City between 2005 and 2007, told Stats Perform: "Yeah, I do.

"I thought that maybe last year as well. The intensity that he works at is quite incredible.

"You know, I think Jurgen Klopp stepped away from it because of the intensity he was working at. I think the same could apply with Pep as well.

"I mean how he drives, and you've only got to look at his body language game by game. The way he turns it out is quite incredible.

"But it wouldn't surprise me if this was his last season, and I think City have got to be guarded and ready for that because there could be a big drop-off when he walks out.

"You've only got to look across the city in Manchester and see the Alex Ferguson scenario when he left, the drop-off from there.

"But listen, Man City fans have got to look and say we've had a brilliant decade or so. They've been unbelievable, but they've got to replace him, and it'll be really important that they get the right replacement when the time's right.

"I personally hope that he stays in English football for another decade because, watching his teams and the brand of football that he's played at Man City, this is a football that I've never seen before in my lifetime."

City won an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title last season and are tipped as the favourites to win the competition once more, with the Opta computer giving them a 73.6% chance of getting their hands on the trophy.

They have been pushed closely by Arsenal in the last two years though, edging the Gunners to the crown by just two points last season, snatching it on the final day.

The two sides faced off earlier this season, playing out an intriguing 2-2 draw, with the Gunners unable to hold out for a win with 10 men due to John Stones' late equaliser.

"I think the head-to-head between them has been absolutely brilliant," Pearce added. "You've got two heavyweights slugging it out there.

"Manchester City have set the pace over the last decade to be honest, and they're the team to chase in the main. Arsenal have arrived and to have a manager that's worked inside Manchester City adds a little bit more spice to the situation as well. And there's very little to choose between both of them.

"I was asked who I thought would win the league this summer and I said Arsenal. I think what Arsenal have got to do to close the gap maybe, to get their hands on the trophy, is probably make sure that they don't drop points like they did at home to Brighton.

"I think they can go toe-to-toe with Manchester City now, I really do. But Man City are magnificent. The manager in charge of the football club just drives them continually, which is incredible.

"Arsenal have closed the gap to, listen, it's such thin margins now, it's incredible. And on top of that, Liverpool had a change of manager that I thought, well, this might take them a little while to get over. It has galvanised them for some brilliant, brilliant results this season."

Manchester City did not anticipate the meteoric rise of Cole Palmer, who has become the best player in the Premier League since leaving for Chelsea.

That is the view of former City defender and manager Stuart Pearce, who believes Palmer's form could even lead to Phil Foden or Jude Bellingham being omitted from the England team.

Palmer left City for Chelsea in a £40million deal last year after struggling for regular minutes at the Etihad Stadium, and he has wasted no time in establishing himself as the Blues' star man.

He has 44 direct goal involvements (28 goals, 16 assists) in the Premier League for Chelsea, more than any other player has managed since the start of last season.

He became the first player to score four goals in the first half of a Premier League game against Brighton and Hove Albion last month, and only City striker Erling Haaland (10) has bettered his tally of six top-flight goals this term.

While Pep Guardiola has said Palmer's sale was not a mistake, citing the fierce competition for places at City, Pearce believes his form will have surprised his former club.

"I watched Cole Palmer in the last internationals and he's so aware, before he gets the ball, of what is around him and he just manipulates that ball brilliantly as challenges come in," Pearce told Stats Perform.

"Now for what he's done, I don't think Manchester City envisaged how well he was going to do when he left the football club. 

"With Cole Palmer, it will be difficult to turn around and say he's not the best player in the Premier League at this moment in time, or certainly last season. 

"His goals tally and his assists tally are there for all to see. He's quite incredible. With his understanding of where to be on a football pitch, you almost want him to be the central figure."

Palmer has also made an impact on the international stage, coming off the bench to score for England in their 2-1 defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final in July.

Lee Carsley, who remains in interim charge of England until Thomas Tuchel takes the reins in January, has fielded Palmer from the right wing, but Pearce thinks he must be allowed positional freedom to show his best form.

"Last game [a 3-1 Nations League win in Finland] he played wide on the right, I think his instructions were to stay on the right because [Jack] Grealish comes off the flank a little bit more," Pearce said.

"It's about where best to play Cole Palmer to get the best out of him. I think it's tucked inside, inside right, number 10, wherever. 

"It's about getting that balance right and you might have to leave Foden or Bellingham out to accommodate him on any given day. Now that is a tough call for any manager, but he's been incredible for Chelsea."

Former England striker Gary Lineker was moved to tears by Bukayo Saka's penalty against Switzerland, comparing it to Stuart Pearce's iconic spot-kick at Euro 1996.

England were staring at a quarter-final exit from Euro 2024 until Saka scored a wonderful equaliser to cancel out Breel Embolo's opener 10 minutes from time.

The Arsenal winger – whose saved penalty cost England in the Euro 2020 final against Italy – then stepped up to convert in the shoot-out as the Three Lions scored with all five of their attempts.

Jordan Pickford saved from Manuel Akanji as England won just the fourth penalty shoot-out in their history, teeing up a semi-final clash with the Netherlands for Wednesday.

Lineker was part of the England team beaten on spot-kicks by West Germany at the 1990 World Cup, when Pearce was one of two players to fail to score, seeing his effort saved by Bodo Illgner.

Pearce then memorably scored in the Three Lions' next shoot-out, a victory over Spain on home soil at Euro 1996, and Saka's moment of redemption brought those memories flooding back for Lineker. 

Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast on Sunday, Lineker said of Saka's kick: "I did actually get a little bit emotional. It reminded me so much of the Stuart Pearce moment. 

"Pearce missed in 1990 when I played. I know Stuart, you know Stuart. He's such a diamond of a bloke and a wonderful football player.

"Then we played against Spain, penalty shoot-out, in 96 in the Euros, and he stepped forward again. 

"I was in the crowd thinking, 'please, please score, don't miss', and everyone in the crowd was thinking the same thing, there was a silence that was palpable.

"When he knocked that in, I cried. I was sitting there in the crowd, crying tears of joy. I don't cry when I'm sad, I cry when I'm happy, and it reminded me of that. 

"Saka took the penalty that basically lost us the Euros, and then to come back, a young lad having scored a brilliant goal to drag us level almost immediately… he's amazing!"

Saka's goal made him just the third Arsenal player to score for England at the Euros, after Tony Adams in 1988 and Theo Walcott in 2012, and the first to do so in a knockout game.

He is also the first Arsenal player to net for the Three Lions at both the World Cup and the Euros, having scored three times in Qatar two years ago.