Pep Guardiola wildcard has given Jack Grealish what he wants at Man City

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola raised a few eyebrows when allowing Joao Cancelo to leave on loan for Bayern Munich during the January transfer window, but that was nothing compared to when selecting one of his stop-gap replacements further down the line.

Even in a dressing room as star-studded as the one City boast, Cancelo had been a shining light over the past two or three seasons, even if he struggled for game-time following the World Cup break. But the choice was made and Cancelo promptly boared a flight to Bavaria.

City have been anything but in full flight this season, although there is every chance Guardiola and his players could end up with another Premier League medal. They might go one better, too, and finally end their hoodoo in Europe under Abu Dhabi ownership.

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If that happens, they might point towards some unconventional tactics as being their catalyst - namely opting to deploy Bernardo Silva as an auxiliary left-back. Having carved his reputation as a fleet-footed attacker, it was beyond surprising to see the Portuguese line up against title rivals Arsenal in that position.

Had it been against lower-level opposition in a cup competition, there almost certainly would not have been the same collective gasp which drew from the turnstiles and those watching on from home when it filtered through our news feed. Bernardo's first task? Marking in-form Bukayo Saka.

As it transpired, Guardiola made that call to give Arsenal something different to think about. It certainly did that and, regardless, City went on to record what could prove to be a vital three points in their latest defence.

"I put Bernardo there because I want to control them," said Guardiola