Injury-hit De Bruyne battling to get back to his lethal best

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recover. But I try every day to be at the best level I can be, and sometimes people have to give me a little bit of slack after the amount of time I’ve been away.

“I always want to be better. But sometimes my body just says ‘no’ and I have to take that in my stride.

“I don’t feel anything in my knee now. But we play so many games, sometimes I feel better and sometimes a little bit less.

“You just feel that in the game and it’s normal. I didn’t have a pre-season and am trying to physically get to the level of last year. I always play the same style. I am not going to do something differently to show I’m there.

“I think people know who I am as a player and what I can do for the team – and that’s not going to change after an injury or two.”

City face Arsenal at the Etihad today looking to reduce Liverpool’s lead to two points.

The champions suffered a shock midweek defeat at Newcastle – and were locked in the dressing room after to listen to Guardiola reading the riot act. De Bruyne said: “We didn’t play at the standard that we can, but it’s not like Newcastle had a lot of chances. They had one chance, they score and it’s 1-1. They have a penalty, they score, it’s 2-1.

“It’s just the way the game goes sometimes and you have to take it on the chin.

“You never make a drama out of it. It happens and you have to go on.

“You have to respect he [Guardiola] is the boss and everybody copes differently with a loss. The amount of games we have won in the last three years is unbelievable, so there are going to be days where the team is less good. “At the end of the day, we are still going strong so there’s nothing wrong going on.” Guardiola took City to the Premier League title by 19 points last term, and his three La Liga titles and three Bundesligas were all won from the front. This time he needs to overhaul Liverpool to be the first boss to retain the title since Sir Alex Ferguson a decade ago. Guardiola said: “I’d prefer it to be like last season! This is a new experience but I believe in the team. I love them, I trust them. “It is an important week. Arsenal, then Everton, then Chelsea. At this stage, after every game, you are either closer or further away from your dream.”