The issue took centre stage during the weekend, aside from the festivities at the Etihad. How can you defeat this Manchester City squad?
Given that Arsenal emerged from the pack of pursuers to create a challenge this season, there was some dishonest talk about City’s dominance of the league. It’s untrue to say that Pep Guardiola‘s team has already won the championship this season. Many unaligned observers believed Arsenal would win for much of this season. It means they might be apprehended.
However, the Gunners faltered just as City put their foot down. Guardiola’s team appeared weak for more than half of this season, but if they continue to play in this manner in 2023–2024, they will be difficult to stop.
There are no assurances and no deadline, so supporters may cling to the hope that the independent panel reviewing the 115 allegations the Premier League has made against the club will put an end to them. You can be certain that those in the chasing pack won’t put all their eggs in a procedure they have no control over, but rather focus on finding ways to move closer to City.
In order to close the gap, Arteta, Erik ten Hag, and Jurgen Klopp will be analysing City and their own team. Pochettino and Eddie Howe might have comparable goals.
The issue is that this appears to be the pinnacle of Guardiola’s time at the Etihad. They are two victories away from the triple and appear more assured and complete than they have in the past. They have an outstanding midfield, a dangerous defence, and an unstoppable goal scorer.
They are projected to end 20 points ahead of United this year, thus Ten Hag will need to find those points rather than City catching up to them in order to win the championship. The Dutchman will assess his group and recognise opportunities for improvement.
There are several spots where an upgrade is clear, but the squad needs more depth and the attack needs to be flexible. Next season, a title challenge may be beyond United, but with two more summer transfer windows, there should be no justification.
By that time, Ten Hag will have sculpted this team into his own image, and the players will be more familiar with his strategies and philosophy. United should reach its peak under Ten Hag in year three.
To do that, he will require a stronger team and starting lineup. This summer, when a striker is the top target, the rebuild will move into its next stage. More goals are obviously needed, and Anthony Martial’s race appears to be over given recent performances.
What happens next this summer will depend on how much money United ultimately spends on a striker. Even if De Gea does agree to a new contract, the goalkeeping unit needs to be strengthened. Given that United must currently make compromises on playing style, by the end of the following summer Ten Hag will want a younger custodian who better aligns with his philosophy than the Spaniard.
The right-back position needs to be improved as well.This season, Wan-Bissaka and Diogo Dalot have shared duties, but that is mainly because both have question marks. Wan-Bissaka gets respect for fighting his way onto the team, but he doesn’t seem to be the long-term solution. Dalot was brilliant in the early part of the season, but he has lost his way.
Midfield appears to be the last location that needs work, at least for the summer of 2019. The midfield trio of Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, and Bruno Fernandes has been effective this year, but Casemiro and Eriksen will be 32 at the end of next year, so finding a younger player must be a top priority.
Eriksen hasn’t been as impressive as he was earlier in the season, and it appears like a midfielder should be United’s key summer acquisition in 2024 in order to inject some quality and vitality into the squad.
Eriksen hasn’t been as good in the latter part of the season as he was in the early going, and it appears like United’s marquee summer acquisition in 2024 should be a midfielder who can inject some vitality and quality into the squad.
Ten Hag will anticipate having a team by then, one that he genuinely recognises. It remains to be seen if it will be sufficient to depose City.