Cole Palmer can change Man City transfer plans after Arsenal cameo

There was a moment at Wembley where Manchester City moved the ball to the left of Arsenal's penalty box and it felt like something seen a hundred times before.

Here Riyad Mahrez would glide to effortlessly control the ball, cut inside or dribble past a player and then arrow the ball into the far corner. Except he didn't - and he won't again; a summer move to Al-Ahli means that Pep Guardiola will have to make do without Mahrez and the team will have to come to terms with replacing him.

In his space, Cole Palmer didn't necessarily do anything wrong but - as has been the feeling with Palmer for the last year - the play just didn't quite have that conviction that makes it unstoppable and his shot was deflected behind for a corner instead. It only added to the early concerns that City haven't quite replaced two hugely important players in Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan.

However, minutes later the ball popped up again and there was Palmer taking the ball on and bending it majestically into the far corner. It had taken two attempts but it was well worth the wait.

Also read: Pep Guardiola avoids Joao Cancelo question after Man City squad absence

Palmer's goal meant his future was an obvious talking point for both the player and his manager after the game. The player said he wanted to play, and the manager said he would be happy to keep him but knew that he wanted to play.

City have not been open to selling Palmer this summer because they still rate him, but had been looking to send him on loan in an acknowledgement that last season had not been what anyone had hoped for and a fresh challenge playing regular football could spark the talent to kick on. That acceptance was one of the reasons why Oscar Bobb has been given a look