Noel Gallagher has claimed that Manchester City really miss having Ilkay Gundogan in the team.
After spending seven years at the Etihad Stadium, which ended with him captaining City to their Treble at the end of last season, the midfielder joined Barcelona as a free agent during the previous summer transfer window.
Even though the Citizens are still in the race to regain the three titles they won last term, one big-name City supporter has suggested that the German’s exit has had a big impact on Pep Guardiola’s side.
Gallagher highlights Gundogan problem
Speaking in a recent edition of Football Daily, Gallagher had this to say about Gundogan.
He said: “Pep bought him with a broken leg or some serious injury and was his first ever signing [at City].
“Him not being there is the reason why we’re conceding so many goals this season. He is the reason why we went through that period where we couldn’t see a game out and got a lot of draws. His game management was outstanding.
“He was so humble and under the radar, he was a Treble-winning captain, he was a bargain, I loved watching him. I loved watching him at Dortmund. I saw him in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich and he was man of the match, Dortmund didn’t win that game but he was something else.”
Gallagher isn’t the first person connected to City that has suggested that Guardiola’s side have been missing Gundogan’s game-management skills, as Izzy Christiansen said the exact same thing back in December.
During his time at the Manchester club, who paid £20m to sign the midfielder from Borussia Dortmund in 2016, Gundogan made 304 appearances across all competitions, scoring 60 goals and delivering 40 assists along the way.
Bearing in mind how City only conceded 33 goals across the entirety of their previous Premier League campaign and have conceded 27 in 27 games this term, this shows how much more regularly the Blues have been letting goals in.
