Manchester City without Kelvin De Bruyne and Rodri is an overhyped team. The absence of both players have had a negative impact on the team’s performance in the last three games including defeat to Arsenal this weekend which is the most recent lose they have conceded. Gabriel Martinelli’s goal was enough to give Arsenal a win. Arsenal will treasure this win, the team have worked hard to come this far, good work to Mikel Arteta, trusting the process is finally paying off.
It cannot be denied that Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri play an important role in the Man City squad, Pep does not have a suitable cover for the two of them in the current squad, ultimately causing them to suffer two consecutive defeats in the EPL. On the other hand, Arsenal is indeed in top form and has not been defeated in the EPL, their positive trend gives them confidence when facing Man City, and they get full support from fans because they play at the Emirates.
Arteta is showing better management at Arsenal than last year. Manchester City could not achieve last year's dominance this year. From what I have observed, with the departure of İlkay Gündoğan, they are not as effective in the midfield as before, and when Kevin De Bruyne gets injured, the dynamics of the team are disrupted. They had problems in the last two matches. Arsenal are in a better situation now and they got a morale boost with the win over City.
Considering that the EPL is very competitive, several players who have experienced a decline in performance due to increasing age, such as Gundogan, must be released, apart from streamlining the squad, the aim is also to regenerate younger players. I think Man City current situation is not as bad as Man United and Chelsea, which are both elite clubs, after the international break I think Pep can bring Man City back to winning ways.