Man City teammates help out misfiring Erling Haaland vs RB Leipzig

When Pep Guardiola picks his Manchester City team for Arsenal, he must be tempted by the idea of Rico Lewis + 10. The City manager fast-tracked the teenager into the first team because he saw how his contribution made the team better, and Lewis has gone from strength to strength.

The tactical awareness and intelligence to absorb all of Guardiola's demands and carry them out expertly is extraordinary for a young man who doesn't turn 19 until next month, and a player who came into the team as a right-back has already shown he can operate as a No.8. Sometimes he dropped in alongside Rodri, and at other moments he drove forward; the opening goal came from a progressive one-two with Bernardo Silva before a pinpoint cutback for Phil Foden.

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Rodri will not be available on Sunday but Lewis made a far more compelling case to start than either Mateo Kovacic or Matheus Nunes did at the weekend at Wolves. After his nerveless performance in the Champions League, Lewis would be very unfortunate to return to the bench for the Arsenal game.

This time last year, the same selection would probably have seen Bernardo Silva line up in the middle with Phil Foden wide. A forward line also featuring Erling Haaland and Jack Grealish proved pretty lethal whenever that trio lined up together.

It is a sign of the times then that Foden was in the middle, given a rare chance to be a No.8 in a more conventional system given Julian Alvarez was left on the bench. Guardiola still believes the 23-year-old can improve, so it was still significant being trusted to play the role in a game that was taken very seriously.

Foden still needs to improve his