In a steep fall from grace, Portuguese left back Joao Cancelo was loaned from Manchester City to Bayern Munich.
The deadline day move was a culmination of increasing tension between Joao Cancelo and manager Pep Guardiola. However it appears to be sudden, at least if you look at it in the context of the past 18 months.
Last season, Joao Cancelo was the ultimate Pep Guardiola player. A 3D chess, galaxy brain inverted fullback who was basically a midfielder, scoring and assisting like a number 10.
Cancelo has gone from a revolutionary and vital part of Guardiola’s team to a dressing room problem.
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There are tactical reasons as well, in that Cancelo is one of the players who are less significant in a system accommodating Erling Haaland. It’s a microcosm of the wider issue – City are transitioning towards playing with an out and out center forward and results are suffering, albeit slightly.
A slight drop off in results, though, is fatal in the Premier League and Arsenal now lead City at the top of the table. Much has been made of Liverpool’s ‘hangover’ after they came so close to winning the league last year.
We don’t talk about City having the same problem because they won, but they must be just as tired as Liverpool after such an intense season last year. Pep Guardiola has publicly criticized his players for being ‘too comfortable’ several times this season.
Cancelo isn’t the only player to grow discontented at City – Bernardo Silva has reportedly been agitating for a move for a while.
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All of this points to a group that perhaps doesn’t have the resources for another season-long battle for the title. They have an unexpected one in Arsenal, who are fired up and motivated in stark contrast to City.
Perhaps getting rid of a first team star will reignite the remaining players, showing them their manager is serious. Guardiola will hope so, because his protege and two of his former players in North London show no sign of relenting.
