“There will be no 11th outfielder in the Manchester City goal against Arsenal on Sunday. After eight years, Pep Guardiola replaced the silky Ederson with Gianluigi Donnarumma, whose footwork is more paso doble than quickstep. It looks unlikely that there will be a right-back who can move into midfield and connect play. The no-nonsense flying machine of a centre-back, Abdukodir Khusanov, will be shuffled across instead. There will be no hint of a false nine either, only the truest number nine in the form of Erling Haaland. …”
NY Times/The Athletic
Are Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta copying each other – or adapting to the rest of the Premier League?
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“Excluding goalscoring, Manchester United’s open-play problems under Ruben Amorim mainly come when they don’t have the ball. What you do out of possession also affects your in-possession game, and vice versa. While it is too early to properly judge their 2025-26 efforts, it is possible to explore issues that were present last season and are creeping in again after five games of the current one. 
Scissors Kick 