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Guardiola: We don’t need Ronaldo or Kane an
PEP GUARDIOLA was not fooling anyone at all.
He saluted Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival at Old Trafford as “good news” for the Premier League.
He likened two-goal Ferran Torres to Leicester City talisman Jamie Vardy.
And he said that he didn’t need a striker.
All of which was probably a bit of a stretch – one word that didn’t apply anywhere else during yesterday’s stroll in the August sunshine.
Stretched? You must be joking. Five goals in what turned out to be little more than a training ground exercise, against opponents who could hardly have been less interested, was a reason to look on the bright side.
Pep even had time to give his old pal, struggling Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, a glowing reference. A friend in need is a friend indeed – and that was to Guardiola’s credit.
But otherwise this was a good effort at masking the fact that neither Lionel Messi nor Harry Kane will be turning out in sky blue as once was hoped. Or you-know-who.
Guardiola said: “We don’t need a striker because we’ve scored five goals. This is why we don’t.
“This is a fantastic squad. All I can say is ‘Thank you’ to Txiki Begiristain [director of football] and Ferran Soriano [Chief Executive Officer] because they know I have never asked for one player.
“We try. Sometimes we do it, sometimes, we don’t.”
The stars at Guardiola’s disposal were more than enough yesterday against an Arsenal side desperately seeking the return of a few senior players.
Along with structure, discipline, drive, hunger and ability if possible.
They were two goals down inside the opening 12 minutes and it didn’t get any better from there. Ilkay Gundogan – yes, the pint-sized midfielder – nodded home Gabriel Jesus’s cross at the far post and then Torres was allowed to simply finish a scuffed effort after his marker, Calum Chambers, went down as if shot by a sniper.
Even VAR couldn’t see that Chambers had been “punched in the face” as Arteta claimed.
The goal stood and the keep-ball exercise began. It became easier still when Granit Xhaka lunged at
Joao Cancelo when there was no need – and was promptly dismissed.
Referee Martin Atkinson perhaps should have looked at the incident on a monitor. He probably just glanced at the player concerned and refused to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Any lingering doubts about the outcome were finally dashed when a moment of Jack Grealish wizardry presented Jesus with the chance to control and claim the third from inside the penalty area.
After the break, it was attack versus defence. A massed defence at that.
Rodri arguably scored the goal of the game eight minutes into the second period. Jesus set him up for a strike from the edge of the box and he passed it into the bottom corner.
The pace slackened but the chances still came. Riyad Mahrez was given too much space by Kieran
Tierney and Torres nodded his second five minutes from the end.
Guardiola (right) was over-gushing in his praise for the young
Spaniard. Not that Torres didn’t play well. But he’s not Ronaldo, Messi or Kane.
He just isn’t.
Pep purred: “I would say the last season Ferran played exceptionally. He played incredibly well. Now in this position, he is making movements in behind – like the best strikers – like Jamie Vardy. He is a good finisher, he is so young.
“Manchester City did an incredible job buying him.
“A player who can play in three positions. He is an incredibly good finisher, the goal against Norwich that was disallowed showed that.
“We are incredibly pleased with his movement, his work ethic, many things.” A good day then. But a good week with Kane staying put and Ronaldo joining the neighbours? Time will tell.