Is Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City Built for Europe over the Premier League?

Pre-season certainly hasn’t seen the best of Manchester City. Nothing is gauged on how a club performs before the start of the season, but still, Pep Guardiola’s Premier League project feels very much like a work in progress. The pieces are there, but it could be weeks—maybe even months—before they are eventually pulled together.

City’s pre-season came to a close on Sunday with a disappointing 3-2 defeat to Arsenal in Gothenburg, Sweden, leaving the Etihad Stadium outfit without so much as a win under their new manager.

Saturday’s Premier League opener against Sunderland might come too early for Guardiola and his players, who are still getting to know each other. 

In fact, it could be claimed that City are under-prepared for the new Premier League and Champions League campaign. Guardiola hasn’t nailed down a formation, with his players still unsure of their roles and responsibilities within the team. That will come, but for the time being they look to be a side without much direction. 

Having scraped a top-four place last season, Guardiola is under pressure to deliver Premier League success this term, but perhaps the man himself has his sights set on other things. Maybe the new City boss is focused not on this weekend’s league opener against Sunderland, but on a target some way off in the distance—the Champions League.

City have spent big this summer as Guardiola tailors the side to his specifications. The Abu Dhabi-owned club have splurged over £110 million on Ilkay Gundogan, Leroy Sane, Gabriel Jesus, Nolito, Marlos Moreno and Oleksandr Zinchenko, replenishing a squad that was already one of the best-stocked in the European game. 

Of those new arrivals at the club, however, only Gundogan and Nolito boast any top-level pedigree, with the former also a risk as he recovers from a serious injury from last season. The likes of Gabriel and Zinchenko are untested and aren’t exactly guaranteed to immediately deliver domestic glory.

For a manager who spends no more than three years at any one club, Guardiola’s signings seem to be surprisingly long term in their outlook. 

On the …

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