Premier League match preview: Arsenal v Man City
Pep Guardiola has revealed that he would love Manchester City star Phil Foden to end up a holding midfielder. The 23-year-old is being given an extended run in the middle of the park this season in the absence of Kevin De Bruyne, and he is almost certain to feature against Arsenal on Sunday.
Foden broke into the City first team as a fresh-faced teenager, emerging from the academy with a stellar reputation. Guardiola has long sung the youngster’s praises, branding him the most talented player he has ever worked with back in 2019.
While many expected him to make a splash as an attacking midfielder, Foden spent the first few seasons of his City career shifted out to the wing. Guardiola has brought him back into the centre this campaign, and the England international is in exciting form going into the crunch clash with Arsenal on Sunday.
Ahead of the game, the Sky Blues boss raised eyebrows by stating his belief that Foden should end up excelling as a defensive midfielder later in his career.
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“When Phil plays as a right-winger, he can do it,” said the former Barcelona manager. “In the beginning when he played as a left-winger, he played well. In the middle he can play right, left, in the pockets – no problem.
“What I would like in the end is that he plays as a holding midfielder, or one of two holding midfielders. For that, he needs to understand the game as a whole, in everything, not just ‘me’.
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“But at the same time, he has this instinct, natural, like the big talents, in the final third. I’m not going to stop him. I’m not going to step in and say, ‘Don’t do that!’ Because he’s unique.”
Foden scored 15 goals in all competitions last season as City romped their way to a memorable silverware treble. The Stockport-born star has scored twice in his last four games, and there would be no better stage on which to continue that run than the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, with last season’s title-race protagonists going head-to-head.
“I think Phil has a free instinct as a football player,” Guardiola continued. “He’s not a player that thinks too much when he plays. He doesn’t have to think, ‘Oh what has the manager said to me?’. He’s a bird, flying wherever it wants.
On the prospect of moving further back in midfield, he added: “Sometimes it is the step one has to gain as a football player, playing in that position which carries some duties for the team.”
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