Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has plenty of tactical and selection dilemmas on his hands ahead of his side’s upcoming game against Arsenal.
For starters, it does not help the Catalan tactician that the likes of Kyle Walker, John Stones and Manuel Akanji all suffered injuries during the international break, reducing the options he can pick at the back.
One will have to wait and see whether the trio will return to full fitness for the contest but as things stand, it is far from an ideal situation for the City manager.
Josko Gvardiol should be used as a centre-back for Manchester City against Arsenal
If both John Stones and Manuel Akanji are deemed injured for the Sky Blues’ showdown with the Gunners, the hosts’ remaining options at centre-back are Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake and Josko Gvardiol.
The Croatian was signed by the treble-winners as a natural centre-half but this campaign, the £200,000-a-week (Sport Rac) man has only played in his favoured position once — in City’s 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup. However, if John Stones and Manuel Akanji remain injured, in our view, Pep Guardiola should deploy Manchester City colossus Josko Gvardiol as a central defender against Arsenal.
If the 22-year-old is played as a left-back, he will have the daunting task of having to keep Bukayo Saka quiet, who is widely viewed as the best right winger in the Premier League after Mohamed Salah.
While Gvardiol has performed admirably as a left-back, Saka is as testing a customer as he has dealt with in his career and the more experienced Ake would be more well-suited to that job.
The former RB Leipzig sensation has had his struggles against tricky wingers like the Gunners superstar, such as Michael Olise and Raheem Sterling, who are also adept at finding their right-back’s runs beyond him, which has hurt him on several instances this season.
Due to the £77.6 million man’s lack of experience at left-back, he tends to step out to make a tackle far too early at times, which would mean Saka could exploit this trait by finding White’s overlapping runs.
However, at centre-back, Josko Gvardiol has rarely been tested at Manchester City and judging by the stages he has played in his natural position, he would be unfazed to be deployed as one against Arsenal.
At the Qatar World Cup in particular, the youngster well and truly put himself on the map by putting extraordinary displays in the centre of defence as he was partnered by Dejan Lovren.
Against a team like Arsenal who are known for their high-pressing as well, Manchester City would require a passer as expansive as Josko Gvardiol at centre-back. Primarily if John Stones and Manuel Akanji, who are City’s best passing defenders are unavailable for the clash.
Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias are not as comfortable as the highly-rated prospect when it comes to breaking the lines from defence and carrying the ball out from the back.
As a centre-back, Josko Gvardiol brings several of the qualities one would demand from a Manchester City defender — assessing danger quickly, apt positioning, astute tackling and a level of comfortability defending both out wide and inside the box, which are traits which will be worth their weight in gold against an attack as potent as Arsenal have.
In a game that could determine whether or not the treble-winners win the Premier League title, playing Gvardiol in his less favoured role would be a risk and instead, allowing him to express himself in a position he is far more experienced and comfortable in would be ideal.
Some may argue that the same size when it comes to Gvardiol’s adeptness at centre-back is minimal, especially if a case is made for how exceptional he was against Newcastle this season.
But that would be an unwise stance to take, with Josko Gvardiol playing as a central defender for the majority of his career, whether it be for Croatia or RB Leipzig in several high-stakes games and competitions.