A year ago
Pep Guardiola has criticized Arsenal's Oleksandr Zinchenko and Bayern Munich's Joao Cancelo on loan during Manchester City's title celebrations.
Arsenal's 0-1 loss to Nottingham Forest on Saturday confirmed City's status as Premier League champions for the third time in a row.
The Gunners have dominated the title chase for most of the season, only to let City take the lead in April having gone four games without a win.
Indeed, the Cityzens have won their fifth league title in six years under Guardiola as they head towards a historic campaign, while also securing their spot in the FA Cup and Champions League finals.
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In this season, Grealish has finally become his own in a Man City shirt, he has strengthened his attack and defense, especially since returning from the World Cup.
Elsewhere, Nathan Ake has produced his best campaign since his £41m move from Bournemouth in 2020. And in City's crowning glory on Sunday, Guardiola chose Ake for his performances at right-back throughout the season.
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Guardiola's delicate search between Zinchenko and Cancelo
In praising Ake, Guardiola appeared to be addressing the weaknesses in the defense of Zinchenko and Cancelo.
Zinchenko left Man City for Arsenal last summer after seven years at City mainly playing at left-back. Meanwhile, Cancelo, who played a central role in City's success last season, abruptly left the club on loan in January and is likely to be sold this summer.
Regarding Ake's form, Guardiola said:
“He is a basic person. Advertisement
"I've learned this season when you're up against [Bukayo] Saka, Vinicius [Junior], [Gabriel] Martinelli and [Mohamed] Salah or [Sadio] Mane in the past, you need a good defender to win it." win in one-on-one matches". a duel.
"Or, in the Champions League, at that level they need to act to beat you and Nathan gave us the momentum I didn't have in the past.
"The biggest push is having a good defender and in the past we didn't have that but Nathan, [Manuel] Akanji and [Kyle] Walker have."
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