Pep must surely regret selling Man City star for £21m

The place do Manchester City go from right here?

On Sunday, the Sky Blues had been steamrollered 5-1 by Arsenal, fully capitulating after Erling Haaland had headed house a second-half equaliser, conceding a number of seconds after kick off after which 3 times extra after that.

That is the primary time Man Metropolis have conceded 5 open-play objectives in the identical Premier League match since 2008. It’s the heaviest defeat of Pep Guardiola‘s managerial profession and means the Residents have now conceded extra objectives this season than Manchester United, regardless of the very fact their neighbours are languishing in thirteenth.

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After Saturday’s FA Cup journey to Leyton Orient, they’re going to face Actual Madrid twice, Newcastle, Liverpool, Spurs after which Nottingham Forest, so issues actually do not get a lot simpler, with opposition groups persevering with to use Man Metropolis’s right-sided weak spot.

Manchester Metropolis’s present right-back choices

In early January, following the 8-0 demolition of Salford, Guardiola revealed that club captain Kyle Walker had requested to go away the membership and “discover choices overseas”, with the 34-year-old becoming a member of A.C. Milan on loan a week or so later, debuting for I Rossoneri by beginning Sunday’s Derby della Madonnina, which ended 1-1.

By way of arrivals throughout the winter window, as famous by Philip Buckingham of the Athletic, Man Metropolis spent £178m, which he factors out is greater than the opposite 19 Premier League golf equipment mixed, and “4 occasions” as a lot as the following highest-spending aspect, who had been Wolves.

The Sky Blues recruited centre-backs Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Juma Bah, the latter instantly loaned out to Lens, in addition to striker Omar Marmoush and central midfielder Nico González, the Spaniard arriving on deadline day from Porto for a reported £50m.

Nevertheless, no right-backs had been signed, neither to exchange Walker in numerical phrases, nor to repair a place that had already been problematic.

20-year-old Rico Lewis is the obvious choice for this place, and earlier this season Guardiola praised the youngster, labelling him “so clever”, including “he’s enjoying as a result of he’s enjoying actually good”.

Effectively, in more moderen weeks, he hasn’t been enjoying, seeing simply 18 minutes of action throughout the final 4 Premier League video games, launched at Ipswich with the rating already 6-0, not beginning any of the final seven matches in any competitors.

As an alternative, having been trialled as a left-winger earlier within the marketing campaign, Matheus Nunes has began all seven of those fixtures at right-back, with Guardiola claiming the Portuguese international is making a variety of progress as a full-back.

Nevertheless, Michael Cox of the Athletic describes Nunes as an “uncomfortable… makeshift right-back”, whereas Graham Ruthven of Forbes provides that he “doesn’t have the defensive instincts of a pure full-back”.

Briefly, Manchester Metropolis’s right-back scenario is a multitude, exacerbated by the very fact they might have offered their most suitable choice for this place final summer season.

Manchester Metropolis could have let their greatest right-back depart

Again in August, João Cancelo joined Saudi Professional League champions Al-Hilal for a reported £21m, however his Man Metropolis profession had been over lengthy earlier than this, loaned out to each Bayern Munich after which Barcelona following a falling out with Guardiola, with Richard Martin of Goal believing the “closing straw” got here in January 2023.

In his pomp, Cancelo was “among the finest if not one of the best attacking full-backs in world soccer”, as noted by Phil Foden, and there are indicators that the Portuguese defender is rediscovering his greatest kind in Saudi Arabia.

Cancelo has impressed in an Al-Hilal shirt, with an article in Breaking the Lines claiming his “constant performances” have “validated the funding”, the right-back himself saying “I’m at house… individuals have proven me essential love and hospitality, and that is one thing I admire”.

Whereas on worldwide responsibility with Portugal in November, Cancelo claimed he “thought [the Saudi League] could be a lot simpler”, including that the perceived lack of depth “is a fantasy…you would not know since you’ve by no means performed there”.

So, let’s examine how his statistics this season examine to Nunes.

As proven within the desk, Cancelo comes out on prime in most metrics, each out and in of possession, with the apparent caveat being that he’s enjoying at a decrease degree; global football rankings consider the Premier League to be the strongest league on the earth, with the Saudi Professional League ranked at thirty first.

However, only one defender has gathered extra assists within the Saudi Professional League, whereas a lot of Cancelo’s greatest work has come within the AFC Champions League, racking up five assists in seven appearances, scoring towards each Al-Rayyan and, most just lately, Persepolis on Tuesday night time.

Thus, these performances counsel Guardiola could rue the day he solid Cancelo apart.

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