Pep Guardiola: A class above

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 31: Manchester City manager Josep Guardiola (R) looks on during a training session ahead of the UEFA Champions League match between Manchester City and Barcelona at the City Football Academy on October 31, 2016 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Chris Brunskill/Getty Images) /

I know the Alexis Sanchez story has been done to death in recent days. Yes he is going to Manchester United and City have, therefore, missed out. Whatever the deal in place with United, and whether Sanchez is a ‘mercenary’ or not really doesn’t matter a whole great deal when you think about it.

Pundits talk about ‘it’s his last big contract’ and I understand that thinking. For me though, whatever Manchester United decide to do with their money is entirely up to them. Even though £300 million in December was not enough for Jose to bridge the gap to City, maybe £340 million is. Who knows!

At the Etihad we have seen the complete reverse of this thinking and managerial temperament. It has been evident that, in Pep Guardiola, we have a proven winner. Sure, you just have to look at his record in Spain and Germany to see that. But it’s more than that.

He takes risks, has formed a winning habit, is learning every day and, as we saw against Liverpool, was humble in defeat. To see a post match press conference where a defeated manager didn’t blame his players, the officials, time between our games against the opponents or ‘S’ goals.

Entering the press conference his first words were ‘Congratulations to Liverpool for the victory.’ Even during the game, from the sidelines at 4-1 down, he was encouraging his players to keep plugging away.

Now, more recently, he was asked about Alexis going to United he responded, in part, with the following:

"What I know right now is Alexis is still an Arsenal player. I think he is going to go to United so congratulations to both of them.In the end, the players and managers decide where they want to play. Good luck."

Pep had said there were no hard feelings and that he wished the Chilean all the best. It’s a response which, if you read into it, suggests all wasn’t as it seemed.

It all goes back to the summer when the last minute deal fell through due to Arsenals procrastination. Back then though, Pep was in need of a player such as Sanchez. Sterling had come off an unimpressive first season under Pep and, even from the start of the season, we weren’t sure what role the Englishman would play.

So, add to the bad taste in the mouth left from Arsenal pulling the plug in the eleventh hour, with the impressive wide players we have, and was Sanchez needed? For £20 million and whatever wages he had agreed to, sure, we’d take him.

Next: Manchester City: Pep Pulls Deal On Shady Sanchez

For double that? I think we certainly had the potential to lose more than we gained. So the ‘managers decide’ part of the comment could be talking about Pep deciding to pull the plug on the deal.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 19: Jose Mourinho, Manager of Manchester United (L) and Arsene Wenger, Manager of Arsenal (R) shake hands prior to kick off during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Arsenal at Old Trafford on November 19, 2016 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) /

It could also be referring to Arsene not wanting to do business with City, a side he only recently criticised for not generating their own money, like United do (whatever that means). Either way, it doesn’t really matter at this point.

Fans of Arsenal are clearly not happy with their manager for the most part, and United fans have been critical of Jose Mourinho’s sleep-ball tactics. Neither are known for their ‘humble in defeat, gracious in victory’ demeanor and for that reason, I’m glad we have Pep.