Spaniard has at his disposal players who can immediately fit his tactical system, and others whose roles are not so clear cut
“He moves really well into the spaces,” said Pep Guardiola of Rayan Ait-Nouri. “He is intelligent and clear to defend and take the ball. He is so clever in the final third, taking the right decisions to create more spaces.”
Ait-Nouri is a vastly important signing for Guardiola. Manchester City haven’t had a specialist left-back since Benjamin Mendy played his last game for the club in 2021.
Since then, the club have played Oleksander Zinchenko in that position, and then Josko Gvardiol. Occasionally Nathan Ake or academy midfielder Nico O’Reilly. But Zinchenko was a midfielder before arriving at City. O’Reilly too is more suited to playing in the middle of the park, and Ake and Gvardiola are centre-backs.
That already implies that with their new left-back City’s game will have a much sharper edge to it than has been the case for a long time. No doubt Guardiola has achieved great things with midfield runners like Gundogan attacking the box in a fluid system, and Gvardiol has been next to exceptional playing as a left-back, but a specialist like Ait-Nouri should still give City a completely different dimension in attack. Just think the terror that Mendy caused opposition defences with his crosses when he played.
In the game against Al Ain, Ait-Nouri constantly pressed forward, racking up 92 touches and City’s second highest touches in the opposition box after Erling Haaland. It was against much weaker opposition but it showed what the full-back will bring to the table. In Premier League games where the opponent tries to clog the middle, the solution is often excellent play on the wings to drag them out of position. Jeremy Doku and Savinho have been called upon to do that so far, but expect Guardiola to call on Ait-Nouri’s talent. He is an excellent fit in the Spaniard’s side.
Then there are Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki. One was Serie A’s best midfielder last season while the other is a 21-year-old signed for his attacking potential. Reijnders will most likely be called on frequently to play as a No 8, tasked with making those Gundogan-esque late runs into the box. He is good at scoring by moving forward from midfield positions. He netted 15 times for AC Milan last season and has described himself as a “box-to-box midfielder”.
Asked about Gundogan, Reijnders said: “Gundogan is someone I can learn a lot from. It’s nice to see him nearby and the way he does it. Scoring goals as a midfielder is very important, that and assists.”
One can expect Reijnders to start much more frequently but Cherki may have to fight for minutes with Savinho on the right. Then there’s Nico Gonzalez. The midfielder was signed in January in what an observer might be justified to call a panic buy. He featured a few times but was mostly relegated to the bench because Guardiola felt he needed some time to understand the way City played.
The player may feature more in 2025-26 but one would expect Rodri, who has now returned from injury, to severely limit his playing time. All in all, City spent some £290 million in 2025 to bring in seven players: Reijnders, Ait-Nouri, Cherki, Gonzalez, Vitor Reis, Abdukodir Khusanov and Omar Marmoush. Marmoush is already proving to be a valued member of the squad.
Reis played only three games for City last season, with one of those being a one-minute cameo in the Premier League. Khusanov didn’t fare much better. With Ait-Nouri’s signing both players will see their appearances suffocated even further, with Gvardiol and Dias likely to be the two first-choice centre-backs and play the majority of games. In addition, there are John Stones, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake.
Guardiola’s headache will be working out how to keep the players happy, which is no mean feat. The Spaniard has already complained about an bloated squad; he was right. But they are all likely to be there when the new season kicks off in August. How he selects the best players to fit his tactical system will determine whether City have a brilliant season or another underwhelming one.
