Inspired Man City beats Villa 3-1, heaps pressure on Arsenal

By JAMES ROBSON
AP Soccer Writer

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Pep Guardiola has been trying to get a reaction from his out-of-sorts Manchester City players. Perhaps the Premier League has done the job for him. At the end of a week when the defending champions were accused of breaching a slew of financial regulations, Guardiola’s players issued a defiant response on the field by beating Aston Villa 3-1. Another win against Arsenal on Wednesday and City will move to the top of the standings for the first time since August and wipe out the eight-point gap that separated the teams as recently as Jan. 19. Rodri opened the scoring for City on Sunday after only four minutes. Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez also scored for the hosts.