Don Hutchison has said that he couldn’t believe Pep Guardiola didn’t bring on one specific Manchester City player during their recent 0-0 draw against Arsenal.
The Citizens had a great chance to take a big step towards potentially regaining the Premier League title on Sunday but were unable to secure a victory against the Gunners on Sunday.
During the game, Guardiola made three substitutions in total, one in the first half after Nathan Ake picked up a suspected injury and two in the second half for tactical reasons.
However, a pundit has shared his astonishment at the fact that the City boss didn’t bring one specific player on during the game.
Hutchison baffled by Guardiola decision in Arsenal game
Speaking in a recent edition of The Gab & Juls Show, Hutchison had this to say when asked about Julian Alvarez and his lack of involvement in the Arsenal game.
He said: “I thought he should have come on. I thought when [Erling] Haaland got the head injury with about five, six minutes to go, I think Pep [should have] had a word, ‘get stripped, you’re coming on.’
“It was one of them games where Alvarez, because we’ve seen him over the months score some decent goals from distance, he’s got that in his locker where he isn’t getting in behind, you need a moment of magic, no one is producing, why not give him five?”
This season has seen Alvarez feature in 42 games across all competitions, starting 33 of them, with 16 goals and 13 assists under his belt.
The recent game against Arsenal was the first time this season that the Argentine, whom City paid £14m to sign back in 2022, was an unused substitute in the Premier League.
In the second half of City’s 3-1 win over Manchester United, the 23-year-old came on as a sub and made an instant impact by providing the assist for Phil Foden’s second goal of the game.
This makes it easy to see why Hutchison thought he may have been a viable option for Guardiola to turn to in an effort to try and break the deadlock against the Gunners.
With Liverpool now having the advantage in the title race, not bringing Alvarez on against Arsenal hopefully won’t be a regret that Guardiola has at the end of the season if his side don’t end up winning the league.