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Why might Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola want Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin?
Manchester City’s expensively acquired centre backs, Eliaquim Mangala and Nicolas Otamendi, received a severe amount of scrutiny last season. Both had their share of error-strewn performances it must be admitted, but a team’s defensive problems are rarely the result of rogue individual displays. Good defensive teams are just that because of their collective strength and organisation. It is crucial that defenders are employed in systems that accentuate their strengths and mask their weaknesses. Wes Morgan and Robert Huth are not ‘better’ players than Mangala and Otamendi in the typical sense of the term, but enjoy the comfort of playing in a defensive structure that suits them perfectly. Whoever Man City have played at centre back over the past few seasons, this has not been the case for them.
The lack of protection offered by central midfield is one issue, but so is City’s crop of ageing fullbacks. It was no surprise therefore, to see the Citizens linked with a move for Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin. For one thing there is an immediate cultural link between Bellerin and City’s Catalan triumvirate of Pep Guardiola, Tixi Begiristain and Ferran Soriano. The 21-year-old defender has been most impressive since being handed a full debut by Arsene Wenger in the Autumn of 2014, fully displacing the more experienced Mathieu Debuchy.
Bellerin has the technical assurance and composure that is expected of any La Masia graduate, though his greatest strength is his abundant pace; an attribute that gives defenders so much more margin for error. He would be categorised primarily as an offensive full back, but it is difficult to recall too many fatal errors defensively. Bellerin was given something of a chasing on his debut away at Borussia Dortmund (no disgrace it should be said) but learnt from his mistakes swiftly. He is very good at jockeying opponents in one on one situations and is improving defensively all the time. If there is one chink in the armour, it is a susceptibility to longer passes played over his head to a diagonal run.
A performance that summed up the trajectory of Bellerin’s career so far came against Guardiola’s Bayern at the Emirates last season. The Spaniard was given a torrid time by Douglas Costa in the first half, who possessed an array of trickery as well as the threatening ability to beat Bellerin on either side. However, Bellerin steadied himself and warmed to his task in the second period. In the closing stages of the game he produced a blistering sprint to cross for Mesut Özil to seal the points for Arsenal.
Guardiola’s right backs at present are Pablo Zabaleta and Bacary Sagna, both players whose best days are possibly behind them. Zabaleta is a real hero among Manchester City fans, and his departure would cause a good deal of sadness at Eastlands. The Argentinian warhorse joined city during the Mark Hughes era, and the fans appreciate the fact he joined at the start of the ‘project’ rather than near its completion.
In City’s title winning campaigns of 2011-12 and 2013-14, Zabaleta was the best right back in the division. Aggressive in the challenge and with the dose of cynicism you expect from Argentinian defenders, he was the complete modern full back. He contributed offensively as well, trademarking the ‘underlap’ and former a devastating triangle with Sergio Aguero and David Silva in City’s right channel.
Under Manuel Pellegrini last season however, Zabaleta made just 13 Premier League appearances. Bacary Sagna was consistently picked ahead of the 31-year-old towards the end of Pellegrini’s time at the club. Sagna is primarily a defensive right back, though he is competent on the front foot and possesses a decent cross. Sagna was twice voted by his peers into the Premier League team of the season during his time at Arsenal, but was slowed up slightly by two broken legs in the space of 12 months.
Nevertheless, he remains a steady occupant of City’s right back spot. Sagna is fantastically brave as a defender and as the cliché goes, really will put his head where people won’t put their feet. The Frenchman’s aerial prowess is one of most underrated qualities, so much so that a move inside to centre back is not out of the question. Sagna fared well there on occasion for Arsenal, when an injury crisis forced his deployment in the middle. Guardiola played three-centre backs quite often for Bayern, and the right side of a back three might be a handy berth for Sagna.
Arsenal, unsurprisingly, have rebuffed City’s advances for Bellerin. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see what Pep Guardiola asks of his full backs this upcoming season. In the modern game, full-backs usually raid down either flank in order to provide width, with teams favouring inverted wingers or numerous creative players in central areas. Guardiola has been known to demand something similar from his full backs, but there have also been radical departures from this formula.
At Bayern, he would ask his full-backs to come inside into central midfield when Bayern had the ball and leave the wide areas for genuine wingers such as Kingsley Coman or Costa. Neither Zabaleta nor Sagna have the capacity to play in such an unfamiliar fashion, so it will be fascinating to see how Guardiola adapts.
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