Manchester City have today released behind-the-scenes footage from the past week – and there is a great interaction between John Stones and Arsene Wenger.
Last week saw City defeat FC Copenhagen 3-1 in the Champions League to reach the quarter-final stage once again.
City then went to Anfield on Sunday and played out a 1-1 draw with Liverpool, in what was a high-quality match.
It was probably a fair result, with Stefan Ortega playing particularly well after he replaced the injured Ederson after his challenge on Darwin Nunez.
It was a game that once again saw John Stones play in a hybrid role, and ahead of the contest, the England international came in for praise from Arsene Wenger…
Arsene Wenger tells John Stones at Manchester City training ground he’s impressed with him
Last Thursday, Arsene Wenger paid a visit to the Manchester City training ground – and it has been documented in the latest episode of Inside City on YouTube.
The former Arsenal manager was there to hand out the various gongs that City players won at the 2023 FIFPRO awards.
The footage shows a number of players, like Manuel Akanji, Mateo Kovacic, Erling Haaland and Matheus Nunes shaking Wenger’s hand and chatting with him.
Four of the six players – Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva – that were named in the FIFPRO World XI all posed for individual photographs with the Frenchman.
And there was a particularly nice interaction between Wenger and Stones.
Wenger says: “I see you more and more you become a midfielder, but you played like that when you were young!
Stones replies: “Well, a little bit, I’m trying my best!”
Wenger can then just about be heard saying: “Congratulations. I’m impressed.”
A lovely moment for Stones
This had to have been a really nice moment for Stones, with Wenger obviously a hugely respected figure in the game.
The Frenchman has clearly taken a keen interest in his development, and it’s great that he told Stones to his face that he has been impressed by him. This is bound to give Stones even more confidence.
What £50 million signing Stones has been doing over the last year or so has been absolutely amazing.
Jamie Carragher said recently that we have never seen anything like what he’s doing in English football before, and that he is unique. It is a very complex role that he is being asked to play in, but he is making it look far easier than it is, and that is a testament to how good a player he is.
