Tony Cascarino believes that Kevin De Bruyne is still Manchester City’s most important player.
City crashed to a second straight defeat in the Premier League last weekend.
City turned in a poor display against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
Gabriel Martinelli’s deflected strike was the different on the day.
It was yet another occasion when City have struggled without Rodri, who was serving the final game of his suspension.
For many, these past few results have indicated just how crucial Rodri is to City, with many claiming he is the most important player.
But Cascarino reckons that honour still goes to De Bruyne…
Tony Cascarino says Kevin De Bruyne is still Manchester City’s most important player
City’s defeat to Arsenal was discussed on The Game podcast.
There was a lot of talk about the impact of Rodri being unavailable.
But Cascarino believes City missed De Bruyne’s creativity, and his ability to do things that other players simply cannot.
He said: “Players like Declan Rice and Rodri and players of that ilk are very good at stopping their team conceding goals, they defend brilliantly. The one thing that was sorely missing was a player to make a pass to open even a really difficult defence and midfield.
“De Bruyne has done that all his career. The perfect ball was what was missing from Man City. De Bruyne has always delivered that. At least once or twice in a game at times.
“(Players like De Bruyne, James Maddison, Lucas Paqueta, Martin Odegaard) They can unlock the key to that block. Because it was quite clear it was very difficult to break each other down. That was evident in the first 10 minutes.”
Gary Neville also said after Sunday’s game that City really missed De Bruyne.
De Bruyne still City’s main man
Both Rodri and De Bruyne are world-class players.
It is very easy to say that Rodri is City’s most important player considering the last three results, and everything that he brings.
But £55 million star De Bruyne is an out-of-this-world talent and one of the best midfielders the game has actually ever seen.
City have managed fairly well without him this season.
But at the weekend the ‘magnificent’ star was badly missed, and Haaland actually almost looked a little lost without him.
No matter how strong an opposition defence is, De Bruyne will always have a strong chance of unlocking it, making him absolutely crucial.
