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LONDON. — It feels somewhat ludicrous to even entertain the notion that Pep Guardiola and Manchester City are currently engulfed in a crisis.
After all, they’ve just taken six points from Tottenham and Wolves in the space of four days and plundered seven goals in the process.
But it’s clear that something isn’t quite right with the English Premier League football champions: Guardiola himself even admits that his side are no longer the indomitable force that they once and even went as far as to question whether or not City have the “passion, fire and hunger” required to win what would be a fifth title in six years in the wake of their subpar first-half showing against Spurs in midweek.
In more ways than one, City’s problems are intertwined with Arsenal. The Gunners, who last won the domestic crown back in 2004, have emerged as City’s most credible rivals this term and are currently five points clear of them at the summit of the table.
Even as recently as the summer, that would have been unthinkable: and had it not been, then it’s highly unlikely that Guardiola would have sanctioned the departures of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus, who both moved to the Emirates for reasonably modest fees.
Although Zinchenko and Jesus often flitted in and out of the City team, both have forged a winning pedigree from their time with the champions. And this year, it’s Arsenal, rather than Manchester City, who are reaping the benefits of that.
Zinchenko in particular is a curious case: often second fiddle to the irrepressible Joao Cancelo, Guardiola lauded the versatile Ukraine international before giving him his blessing to complete a switch to north London back in the summer. Already, it’s clear that decision has backfired. The 25-year-old has had to battle injury problems at the Emirates, but he has been influential in Arsenal’s title tilt. Ironically, while Zinchenko has thrived away from Manchester, the ever-dependable Cancelo has started to flounder.
But it’s not just on the pitch that Zinchenko has excelled. After establishing himself as a leader just months into his Arsenal career, the full-back’s current attitude towards the title race speaks volumes — and is seemingly a far cry from that of Cancelo, who has been relegated to a supporting role ever since Guardiola revealed that some players were not showcasing the required ‘body language’ in training.
After starring in Sunday’s 3-2 win over Manchester United in the same inverted wing-back position that Cancelo has made his own at the Etihad in recent years, Zinchenko told Premier League productions: “To be honest when I just arrived, the quality I saw — obviously I knew the Arsenal team, I knew all of them before — but still, I realised on the pitch that we have everything to achieve the big things. And I started to speak in the dressing room like, “guys, forget top three or whatever it is, we need to think about the title.”
“Some of them were laughing, but no one is laughing now.” Guardiola certainly won’t be. That type of mental fortitude has driven Manchester City to new heights during Guardiola’s reign. Now, it’s become the hallmark of Arsenal’s remarkable season. — The Mirror
Online Reporter