Pep Guardiola has claimed that Manchester City have a player who possesses quite a rare trait in his game.
Upon first reflection, Guardiola’s comments can be attributed to several players in their squad, who have their own one-of-a-kind assets.
For instance, is there any attacker in the Premier League as proficient across a range of roles such as Phil Foden is?
It is tough to name too many.
Similarly, there are not many full-backs in world football who are as synonymous with keeping wingers quiet as Kyle Walker is, with only Aaron Wan-Bissaka known for having a similar reputation.
Not many other strikers under the age of 25 have dominated two of Europe’s top five leagues in the same vein as Erling Haaland has.
Guardiola says Man City star has a trait that is “difficult to find”
There are not many central midfielders in Europe, perhaps apart from Frenkie de Jong who can carry the ball over large distances like Mateo Kovacic does.
As for being able to play every position across the backline to a high level, not many defenders can do so like Manuel Akanji.
The list goes on for Manchester City players.
The treble-winners have built of squad of players who have irreplicable skills, which makes them such a challenge to beat.
Whether it be in a title race, a two-legged knockout tie or a potential fit.
In their latest outing, the Sky Blues thrashed Luton Town 5-1 on Saturday.
As Josko Gvardiol scored a peach of a goal with his right foot, Pep Guardiola emphasised how much of a rare characteristic the mastery with his weak foot was.
“It’s difficult to find, the left footers, they don’t use their right feet much and he’s really good with the right. He’s more comfortable with the right and the left. And yeah, he scored a good goal in Madrid, today, again in the first half, he had a chance and is now another threat we have in the final third”, he said about the £77.6 million man [via HaytersTV].
“So, he receives in central positions when the wingers come, two or three players to make two against one, three against one against [Jeremy] Doku, Jack [Grealish] or whatever, he’s free and close to goal, have an incredible talent so I encourage him to try it again and again.”
Pep Guardiola makes a fair point about Josko Gvardiol
If there were any suspicions that the screamer from Josko Gvardiol against Real Madrid was a fluke, his strike against Luton and the post-match assessment from Pep Guardiola is proof that he has a seriously good weak foot.
As Guardiola stated, left-footed players tend to use their right foot as merely a standing leg.
Names like Arjen Robben, Bernardo Silva, Mesut Ozil and Angel Di Maria spring to mind.
However, Gvardiol has shown that he also has a wand of a right peg on him, which is perhaps why Guardiola has given him the freedom to take shots from outside the box by putting this trait to use.
The 22-year-old’s unique asset is helping City to say the least.