Sport

Are Manchester City being underestimated this season?

Manchester City sent out a rather emphatic message to their Premier League title rivals with a 4-0 win at Wolves on Saturday, and plenty of people have taken notice.

It is incredible what a year can do for football narrative. At the start of last season, City were seen by many as nailed on to win a fifth successive crown, and if anyone were in a position to challenge, it was Arsenal. After all, that had been the makeup of the title race over the previous two seasons, while Liverpool were reeling from the exit of Jurgen Klopp, Arne Slot only signed an out of sorts Federico Chiesa and Chelsea were undertaking another rebuild.

What followed baffled the majority of pundits and predictors. City’s collapse was generational, certainly in the context of Pep Guardiola’s career. Having only finished below second once in his time as an elite coach – third in his first season in England – Guardiola had to fight to secure a Champions League spot, before losing the FA Cup final to Crystal Palace. In their absence, Arsenal were expected to finally end a 21-year wait for a league title, but Slot and Liverpool were unstoppable.

Facing so many doubts over his ability to follow in Klopp’s footsteps, Slot made very few changes, taking the same squad and tweaking the style of play. Less chaos, more control; mimicking the difference between him and Klopp. It worked a treat.

This summer, his rebuild has taken shape with majorly expensive surgery. Players like Trent Alexander-Arnold, Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz departed, while Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong and Hugo Ekitike arrived. Florian Wirtz was an incredible coup despite costing up to £116m, as they beat City and Bayern Munich to his signature, and Ekitike is a new project who could develop into something special in years to come. Newcastle striker Alexander Isak is on strike in a bid to force a move to Anfield, although that appears unlikely as the Magpies struggle to find a replacement and his valuation is so high. In defence, Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi is the main target and young Italian Geovanni Leoni has signed from Parma.

It is undoubtedly an impressive window, which some are calling an all timer. Signing Isak, with all that represents, is perhaps the defining factor in all the positive noise around the Reds, but like City last year, many expect the momentum to carry them through again, which it may well do.

But Arsenal have improved in key areas, particularly up front by signing Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting CP, and began with a win over Manchester United at Old Trafford. City are considered serious outsiders after last season’s drop off, but having spent over £300m since January, with some particularly astute signings like playmaker Rayan Cherki from Lyon and midfielder Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan, the Serie A Midfielder of the Year, should not be overlooked.

There was a feeling, on reflection, that City should have acted to revamp their squad after winning the treble in 2023, and paid the price for waiting a year.

What has perhaps gone under the radar is the value of those players, a combined £80m. Both starred at Wolves, with Reijnders in particular stealing the spotlight with a wonderful pass for the first goal and a stunning finish for the second. He already looks like a star in the making and between him and Cherki, City have replaced Kevin De Bruyne. Throw in Erling Haaland, who bagged a brace at Molineux, and the former champions look a decent bet to regain their crown.

Guardiola is the real key though. He signed a new two-year contract in what is said to be his final move in club football. Perhaps the blip last season has reinvigorated his hunger to prove himself again, and that is not good news for the rest of the league.

Liverpool are rightful favourites with or without Isak. Ekitike is probably good enough to make signing the Sweden star something of a risk; he deserves the chance to develop himself. With Mo Salah too, it’ll take a top side to beat them. But the pace at which Manchester City have become outsiders is curious; they showed how ready they are to challenge again at the weekend and will push all the way.