CITY SPECIAL De Bruyne laughs off critics as just ‘banter’
KEVIN De Bruyne has admitted he laughs at the internet critics who don’t recognise the demands of a footballing lifestyle.
While the City ace is quick to point out how much he enjoys being able to play the game professionally, he believes that success is due to far more than the 90 minutes on a match day.
The Belgian is a slight doubt for City’s trip to Arsenal on Sunday, but has been a regular under Pep Guardiola with 39 appearances to his name so far this term.
And he enjoys the ‘banter’ from those who question how much work he and his teammates put in.
Asked what he would say to the critics, De Bruyne told Duse Magazine: “I don’t really care because that is everywhere. People don’t know the work we put in. If you are at home resting, you are resting because you need to play on Saturday.
“It is just part of the job – you need to have the treatment, do the massages, training, go in the pool.
“So I think our job is 24/7. I love my life. We are busy and I don’t care what people say. I read comments, what people write on the internet but it makes me laugh.
“It doesn’t affect me personally, for me it is banter.
“What I like the most is when people know I am a good guy, I am respectful of everybody.
“It doesn’t matter who you are, the biggest star or the little guy, and you should have the same attitude towards them.” IF EVER there is a time for Pep Guardiola to fully embrace his philosophy, it is against Arsenal on Sunday.
Two of football’s idealists will meet at the Emirates.
Two men whose refusal to compromise has earned reverence and criticism to varying degrees.
And two managers who are experiencing more-or-less parallel campaigns.
City vs Arsenal should be a game of significance in the race for the Premier League title.
Instead – barring a miracle – it is about cementing a place in the top four.
Arsene Wenger’s position has never looked so precarious, 13 years after his last title.
Guardiola, meanwhile, has faced more scrutiny at City than at any other time in his managerial career.
Yet the Catalan, who like Wenger was eliminated in the last 16 of the Champions League and is now looking at the FA Cup as his last realistic chance of silverware, is adamant he will stick to the methods that served him so well at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
Rather than being chastened by defeat to Monaco before the international break, he has been more emboldened in his belief that his methods will bring him success at the Etihad.
His utter conviction in his philosophy was patently evident after City’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool, which could just as easily have ended up four a piece.
So regardless of Arsenal’s ample attacking threat in Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Theo Walcott and the like, there is little chance of Guardiola attempting to stifle Wenger’s team.
“It’s so simple,” he said. “When I’m talking defence and attack, I’m going to explain the reason why.
“When you play with Yaya Toure alone there, with (David) Silva, Kevin de Bruyne and two guys who are 19 years old as wingers, and Sergio Aguero, you’re playing with five guys with the mentality to attack.
“That’s why we do that – to create more chances. When you score goals, after that the game is in our hands and you have more control.
“But when you defend, you need another type of player. It’s not like handball when you change – now attack, now defence, now attack, now defence. No.
“I like to be there to try to attack as much as possible.” That is the philosophy City bought into and one they hope will realise their ambition of Premier League dominance and Champions League success. It means, barring injury, Yaya Toure or Fernandinho will be deployed as a lone screen to the defence at the Emirates, leaving City susceptible to the breaks that Monaco so exploited and Liverpool failed to. But with Wenger equally committed to attack, Arsenal are just as likely to be exposed by the pace of Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling. It may not be a game of title consequence, but it might just be the hottest ticket in town. Pep Guardiola