Despite enjoying arguably his best spell in a light blue shirt, Pep Guardiola should consider dropping Jack Grealish for Wednesday’s blockbuster Premier League clash against leaders Arsenal.
That is the view of former Aston Villa and Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore, who would prefer to see Phil Foden start on the left flank for the Citizens.
City are set to travel to the country’s capital on Wednesday night for a game that has the potential to decide the direction of this season’s title.
The Gunners are on 51 points after 21 games and lead the Citizens by three points, but with a game-in-hand over their Manchester rivals, Mikel Arteta will be looking to extend his side’s advantage to six points.
Getting the better of City is never easy though, regardless of their patchy form this season. Arsenal have not beaten the blue half of Manchester in any of their last six encounters, but Collymore believes this week’s game has presented Guardiola with a rare tactical conundrum.
“Man City face a big tactician decision,” Collymore said in an exclusive interview.
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“Riyad Mahrez is nailed on to start on the right, but does Guardiola go with Jack Grealish or Phil Foden on the left?
“Personally, I’d start Foden in this one. He works harder and is guaranteed to offer you more going back, and with Bukayo Saka in the form of his life, the Citizens will need to load up on Arsenal’s right-hand side to stop him.
“So for me, although Grealish is playing really well, I think it’d be wise to bench him mid-week in favour of Foden and then look to bring him on with half an hour or so to go.”
Calls for Grealish to be dropped may surprise some fans but highlighting Saka’s potential threat, Guardiola may be inclined to agree that his side will need to double on the problematic Englishman, and that could open the door for Foden to make his 14th league start of the season.
Who do you think should start for Man City, Grealish or Foden? – Let us know in the comments.