Pep Guardiola Facing Big Week as His Manchester City Side Looks Undercooked
Manchester City ended their pre-season calendar with a 3-2 defeat to Arsenal in Gothenburg, Sweden, on Sunday after a performance that added further weight to the theory Pep Guardiola's side is somewhat undercooked heading into the new Premier League season.
The result was largely irrelevant, but City's defending, which was sloppy throughout, did little to settle the nerves of their supporters, many of whom feel their team could have done with an increased summer programme, particularly after their proposed friendly with Manchester United in Beijing on July 25 was cancelled because of the poor state of the pitch inside the National Stadium.
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This was City's third proper friendly (they also played St Johnstone behind closed doors on Wednesday), and they looked anything but ready for the new season, one that will see stiffer competition than ever before after a summer of managerial changes and heavy spending across the upper tier of the division.
It was at the back they suffered the most. It would be foolish of Guardiola to ignore the defensive issues that undermined Manuel Pellegrini's final season in charge. The new manager has yet to strengthen his back line, and it could prove his undoing.
Fernando and Aleksandar Kolarov played as a makeshift centre-back pairing in the Ullevi Stadium and neither looked comfortable.
Pablo Zabaleta has undergone ankle surgery this summer after an injury-affected 2015/16 season and isn't match fit.
Gael Clichy made costly errors but at least looked sharp going forward, Bacary Sagna came on for his first run out in a City shirt this summer after France's run to the final of the European Championship and Tosin Adarabioyo, impressive in the previous two games, played the loose pass that led to Arsenal's third.
Nicolas Otamendi was left at home because of injury.
It's a somewhat chaotic situation. Given City's their first Premier League game of the season at home to Sunderland is on Saturday, it was far from ideal.
Guardiola's new style of play, which sees his side pass from deep, with goalkeepers and defenders encouraged to get on the ball and start moves, hasn't yet been taken on board fully by his players. They tried to carry out his instructions on Sunday, but time and again they surrendered possession in dangerous areas and handed Arsenal the initiative.
“It's a new philosophy, a new way of playing football, a new way of defending,” Clichy said after the game. “We just have to adjust. For most of us, it's the first time we see something like this and, of course, you have to pick it up quick.
“But it's not going to happen overnight—we need to work and focus on what [Guardiola] wants us to do and listen to him. The seasons he's had with his previous teams shows us if a team can manage to play the way he wants to play, we should have a good season.
“It's early, but we are confident.”
City retain an interest in John Stones, the 22-year-old Everton defender identified by Guardiola as the man capable of ushering in the possession-based style he craves.
"He is still a player from Everton,” Guardiola said on Saturday. “That question is about the market, so [director of football] Txiki Begiristain is the right person.
"I know how it works here in England. I am just a trainer. I give my opinion, my advice to the club and the club decide the best as possible.
“He's an Everton player right now. I don't know what is going on in the future, but he played in the memorial for Wayne Rooney. Today he played against Espanyol, so he's a player for Everton.”
Whether they can land him before Saturday's Premier League curtain-raiser remains to be seen. Each side holds cards they feel trump the other's. Everton don't want to lose him and don't need to sell given their increased revenue from the league's new television deal and the wealth of their majority investor, Farhad Moshiri.
City know the player is unhappy and wants to join them. Having kept him against his will last summer in the face if interest from Chelsea, it would seem foolish to do the same thing again. Surely an agreement will be reached in the coming days.
City also need to get rid of players. So far, Martin Demichelis is the only senior player to have departed, leaving the squad looking somewhat bloated and weighed down by deadwood.
Two players who look certain to leave are Wilfried Bony and Eliaquim Mangala, both of whom were fit and available but were left behind by Guardiola in favour of others.
“Now, in that moment, they are players for Manchester City,” Guardiola told reporters. “Of course, until something happens they will be a player.
“Mangala—same with Sagna—[returned in the] the last [few] days, and Bony, of course, would come because he [had] a very good pre-season, but the problem was three strikers [were in the squad]. And [because he could've] come and maybe [not] played, it's better to stay there training. That is the reason why.
“Bony is a really nice guy, and he trained really [well], so I don't have complaints about him.”
The Ivorian's time at City has been defined by his inability to fit in with the team's style of play, with his lack of movement his major Achilles' heel. He looks static while his team-mates are moving fluidly, a problem that will only be exacerbated now Guardiola has taken charge.
And for Mangala to have fallen so far down the pecking order—below the 18-year-old Adarabioyo—says much about the woeful mismanagement that saw him arrive in the first place. The fee for Mangala is subject to debate, but senior City officials have admitted privately the total cost was in excess of £40 million, per Guardian journalist Daniel Taylor in an interview with Ric Turner of Bluemoon.
Some feel he should stay, with Nicolas Otamendi the one to be sacrificed. There is some merit in the argument given Mangala is three years younger than the 28-year-old Argentinina, but neither has impressed with the club. And with Guardiola looking to reshape the squad in his own image, something has to give.
Guardiola is unlikely to be panicking. Pre-season often sees teething problems, with results and performances rarely an accurate guide of how a team will start the season proper. Indeed, this time last year, VfB Stuttgart beat City 4-2, only for the latter to start the season on fire, winning their first five games without conceding a single goal.
But what's clear is there is plenty of work for City to do between now and Saturday teatime.
“We did some things good and some things not as good,” Clichy admitted afterward. “We've still got time to improve. We are still learning what the manager wants. We will improve.
“It was a good game to test, after the three or four weeks pre-season, where we are at. And I think we have a clear view of what we have to do better. We still have time before the first game, and we are going to try to improve."
The Premier League is set to be even more competitive this season after big spending from its clubs once again, and City cannot afford to lose early ground. The work the squad do at the City Football Academy is crucial.
Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and follows the club from a Manchester base. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @RobPollard_.
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