The secrets of the Manchester City 'tortoise' and the ominous signs they are ready to hunt down Arsenal in title race (again): How Pep Guardiola builds his terrifying machine in pre-season and the rewards it brings after Christmas

There is a Manchester City fan on social media who regularly posts a picture of a tortoise. Cartooned, it sports glasses with thin rims. On its shell rests an old club crest, one with an eagle, taken from the area’s coat of arms from a bygone era.

This is subjective but the little painted grin it wears feels a little bit smug, perhaps coloured by the knowledge the supporter who designed it lives in Liverpool . He started the meme in 2020, unveiled ironically with City languishing way behind Jurgen Klopp ’s Reds and meekly surrendering their crown.

It’s taken on such a life of its own since then that Arsenal fans now complain about post-traumatic stress disorder every time it resurfaces. The last outing was in the moments after Emi Buendia’s 95th-minute winner earlier this month that had Arsenal players sinking to their knees at Villa Park.

On one day in April 2024, Liverpool succumbed to Crystal Palace and Arsenal blew it at home to Aston Villa . It was the afternoon, looking back, when City clinched a record fourth straight title. The tortoise came up for air twice in a matter of hours.

The haughty tortoise. The trolling tortoise. There it is, plodding on, knowingly glancing over in pity. A very basic drawing with a badge stuck on the side is culturally relevant to the Pep Guardiola decade in a relatively small corner of the internet. They do say a picture is worth a thousand words.

‘In a season you always need to build slowly,’ Ruben Dias told Daily Mail Sport . ‘When you get to February onwards you need to be ready. We have seen it every year we have been successful in that we might not be top of the league – but we are there. We need that again this season.’

Manchester City are closing in on Arsenal again - and worse news for Gunners fans, City are traditionally at their strongest in the second half of the season

Arsenal fans will have been fearing the worst again after a 95th-minute winner for Aston Villa beat them this month

The tortoise meme that has become so common among City fans as they repeatedly reel in their title challengers

So many times under Guardiola, City have been slow and steady. So many times creeping up from behind, that inevitable calm march to the finish line.

They’ve only taken the Premier League from the very front once - during the first crown, the record-breaking 100-point season in 2017-18.

They’ve overturned a deficit in all of the other five title campaigns. Guardiola obviously doesn’t plan this trajectory but he does work on when his squad might function at optimum levels.

And it’s proven in their lengthy winning runs. In 2019, 14 consecutive victories. Fifteen in 2021, a couple of 12s in 2022 and 2023.

Right now, City are on five. How long that stretches is uncertain, especially given the increased quality of the Premier League, but there are basic methods Guardiola follows that help set up these streaks.

Holidays at City with the Catalan in charge are longer than at any other top team across Europe. They regularly ignore the three-week guideline for elite players who compete in international competitions over the summer, sometimes stretching to over a month.

Guardiola in the past has told them to come back when they feel ready. Because of that flexibility, none have taken liberties.

Previously, they have happily absorbed early defeats, those usually arriving in October or November. The opening weeks are treated like pre-season, City usually winning while playing on the adrenaline of a new campaign.

Only once has a Guardiola City team run away with the title from wire to wire - his first Premier League triumph, in 2017-18

The Club World Cup kept City going during the summer, but ended abruptly with a shock defeat by Al Hilal in the last 16

Holidays at City with the Catalan in charge are longer than at any other top team across Europe. They regularly ignore the three-week guideline for players in international competitions

It was a formula that had a groove, Guardiola doing it to guard against muscle injuries later on in seasons as best he can. Players trusted that process and it worked for them.

Last year, multiple issues reared their head – not even the rest period after the European Championship, with those who reached the final not back in training by the time the Community Shield came around, could prevent injuries – but it’s clear Guardiola’s ideas on regeneration work.

A month off for everybody after the Club World Cup probably left them just as undercooked this time, yet the intensity of football in America, and the competitive competition extending into July, could be argued to have physically tided them over.

The softly, softly approach isn’t necessarily the biggest factor in City’s season this time around though.

The August defeats by Tottenham and Brighton seemed more to do with a lack of tactical understanding in a changing world with new assistant Pep Lijnders and associated teething problems than anything else. Down at the Amex Stadium, Guardiola wore a look of confusion even before Brighton completed a 2-1 comeback.

Gradually, things have started to click. They are learning the pressing techniques Lijnders wants. Bernardo Silva is leading from the front, covering more ground than anybody and working to aid the transition for some of the younger signings.

Erling Haaland’s opening goal against West Ham – careful passing, more patient – pointed to a team that is beginning to get the instructions on tempo. Guardiola believes there is a significant margin for improvement too, which can only bode well.

There is not that definitiveness with City this year that they will embark on one of those silly winning runs that ruthlessly snatches glory away from their rivals, largely because we don’t know how this new group will react as a collective when things become truly serious.

The August defeats by Tottenham and Brighton seemed more to do with a lack of tactical understanding in a changing world with Pep Lijnders and teething problems

Arsenal have had significant leads this season at the top of the table, but their recent wobble has let City back in

What the past does do, however, is give supporters that sense of comfort. The positivity that as a club they’ve gone through it all before, morphing into a terrifying machine after Christmas

We don’t know if they can keep on top of injuries or whether they may start drawing games, having ended all square in just one all season.

Any lengthy winning run may have to wait. City's upcoming fixture list includes difficult trips to Nottingham Forest, Sunderland, Newcastle, Old Trafford and the Arctic Circle, with Chelsea and Brighton also to navigate at home before hapless Wolves come to the Etihad on January 24. Then it's Galatasaray, Spurs, Newcastle and Liverpool in the space of 11 days.

What the past does do, however, is give supporters that sense of comfort. The positivity that as a club they’ve gone through it all before, morphing into this terrifying machine after Christmas.

Reason enough to fire up the meme, to present the tortoise, as they chip away.