Arsenal are going to play Manchester City today in a match that will put Arsenal Manager, Mike Arteta against his mentor and compatriot, Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola.
Pundit Steve Nicol has suggested that Kalvin Phillips should be in the starting XI for Manchester City’s Premier League match against Arsenal.
The Manchester club will be without Rodri for Sunday’s clash at the Emirates as he will be serving the final game of his suspension.
As a result of this, one pundit has weighed in on who Pep Guardiola should choose to start in midfield for tomorrow’s big game. Speaking in a recent video on the ESPN FC YouTube channel, Nicol had this to say about Phillips.
He said: “Part of the reason why I’m saying [John] Stones and Phillips is because Arsenal are, no question, going to try and squeeze City, I think Arsenal are going to go forward at every single opportunity particularly because they’re at home.“So you’re always going to have that six, defensively, City. And then you’re going to leave your four going forward, that’s why I think he should play Phillips.
“I absolutely agree that I don’t think [Guardiola] does trust him yet, but I tell you what, if he is in the balance, City can afford to find out what Phillips is made of when it really matters most.
“My reasoning with Stones and Phillips are more natural defenders because when the ball is turned over, no question Arsenal are going to try and get at them quickly and so, for me, that’s what makes the most sense and you let the other four go forward regardless of who they are.” The 27-year-old, who the club paid £45m to sign back in 2022, has only started one of the five games he’s appeared in for City so far this season in all competitions, which was their 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup.
Across those 90 minutes at St. James’ Park, Phillips only ended up winning three of the 15 duels he was involved in, as well as finding himself getting dribbled past on two occasions.
So from a defensive point of view, which is why Nicol thinks the England international would be a good option to start against Arsenal, the midfielder didn’t prove himself as an effective defensive figure on that particular occasion where he had the opportunity to do so.
Therefore, we feel that if Guardiola decides to start Phillips against Arsenal, this could make the team defensively vulnerable, especially as Stones will be unavailable, which could have a big impact on the game and the overall result
