When Man City signed off on Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko's respective moves to Arsenal for a combined £75m last July, little did they know they would spend the forthcoming season battling with the Gunners for the Premier League title.
Both former City players have shone for Mikel Arteta’s side and played vital roles in their unexpected title charge. However, recent draws with Liverpool, West Ham, and Southampton have handed the initiative to their former employers.
Arsenal might still boast a five-point lead at the top of the table, but they have played two games more than Man City. Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola’s men host the Gunners on Wednesday night as Jesus and Zinchenko return to the Etihad.
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If Arsenal are to wrestle back control of the title-race at the home of the reigning champions, the pair’s experience will be crucial. They won four Premier League titles each, after all, during their time at Man City.
And Arteta has admitted, given that few of his squad have been in this situation before, that his side will be using the pair’s experience as much as possible during a decisive title run-in.
When asked if he is leaning on the pair ahead of facing Man City, the Spaniard said: "For sure. Their experience is key when you have been in those moments to handle those and try to understand the importance of certain things.
"When they came in after two or three weeks, because of where they have been, they said we can win this league. It’s not something that we have started to feel or they have started to transmit, it has been going on since August.
"It’s not something we now rely on, this process has been coming a long time."
Meanwhile, Guardiola has insisted he has no regrets about sanctioning the pair’s transfers to Arsenal, even if his former players could end up costing him a fifth Premier League title.
“The club took the decisions what they believe they had to take,” he said. “When these kind of transfers happen it’s because the three parties agree, it’s not just about one part.
“The players are agreed, which is the most important thing, the club wants to sell, the club wants to buy, so they are agreed. So the club take the decisions before you ask the question – is it a risk?
“So they’re happy, we’re happy so in the end we don’t have any complaints about Gabriel and Alex and where they are and what they have done for this club in the last years.”
In truth, Guardiola would hardly admit anything else, especially on the eve of this reunion at the decisive end of the title-race. Besides, public regret would scream fear, weakness and a loss of control.
The Spaniard will always have confidence in his own side’s abilities and has every reason to, given their constant success under his reign. If, in hindsight, he does rue Jesus and Zinchenko’s destination, it will remain internal.
While there is always a risk in selling to a ‘Big Six’ rival, few would have predicted Arsenal’s transformation this season. Still, it might prompt City to be a bit more wary when it comes to future outgoings, depending on how this season’s title-race concludes.
For example, while Liverpool have been way off the pace at the top end of the table this season, with their midfield woes well-documented, it would be a surprise if City willingly helped strengthen their weakened foes at the risk of them emerging as title contenders once again.
Yet the Daily Star report that the Reds are interested in signing Kalvin Phillips this summer in a potential £35m switch. The England international becomes the latest name on a never-ending transfer longlist as a result.
The 27-year-old moved to the Etihad from Leeds United in a £50m move last summer, but has struggled during his first season at the club. Nothing more than a squad player, partly because of injury, he has been limited to 16 appearances in all competitions, with his only two starts coming in the League Cup and FA Cup.
For what it’s worth, the ECHO understands that Phillips is not a player under consideration at Liverpool right now, despite the Reds continuing to weigh up a plethora of midfield options ahead of a planned summer revamp of their engine-room.
But even if he was on their radar, it would be questionable whether City would actually grant such an exit. After all, the Reds are the only side to have won the Premier League title at Guardiola’s expense since his own first English title in 2017/18, while they have finished just one point short of the title on two occasions.
Jesus and Zinchenko might have left for Arsenal last summer, with Raheem Sterling also being sold to Chelsea, but neither club had ever pushed City as hard as Liverpool.
Sterling's own move to the Etihad from Anfield remains the last direct transfer between the two clubs, prior to the Reds' emergence under Jurgen Klopp.
If Liverpool were to sell any of their own squad, City would be one of the last sides they would wish to sell to given their ongoing on-field rivalry. That goes without saying. As a result, they should expect the same treatment back.
Klopp even hinted as much when discussing Jesus' Man City exit last October ahead of his side's own clash with Arsenal.
“I don’t know him on a personal basis, but I’ve always liked him as a player,” the German admitted. “I know City wouldn’t have sold him to any club, but with Arsenal the distance was enough, geographically."
Should Guardiola’s men overcome Arsenal to lift the title, they will have once again proven themselves as just too strong. But not before Jesus and Zinchenko’s Gunners gave them a fright.
Expect them to be more cautious on the outgoing transfer front going forward as a result. While Arsenal might have taken Liverpool’s place as their main title-challenge this year, City will have no desire to help restore the Reds’ contender status - especially if the Premier League is about to become more than a two-horse race.
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