As Manchester City prepares to face Arsenal in the fourth round of the FA Cup, Pep Guardiola disclosed why Kevin De Bruyne will no longer be hugely dependent upon as it was in the past.
Pep said that there have been some tactical changes since the arrival of Erling Haaland and it has become imperative to not feature the Belgium international in some matches.
The Manchester city coach also said that there are matches the midfielder does not actually fit into so he knows him too well to drop him out of those games.
“Seven years we know each other very well. I know when Kevin is ready and sometimes not. It’s normal. There are many games. Sometimes we need another type of player in that position. Sometimes we need more players in the boxes and Kevin struggles a bit right there,” he said.
“Kevin, always you expect him to assist the ball – but how many assists does he provide that were not converted, don’t count as an assist but really is? Big competition in the squad. Some games need a specific player that Kevin for example struggles a little bit,” he added.
The Man City midfielder has not started in the last two matches for the blues which was not a decision that could have been made by the team last season.
