Guardiola told why title-winning era is 100% OVER as Liverpool, Arsenal given major lift

Pep Guardiola has been warned that Manchester City will find it incredibly tough to win the Premier League title again in the next few years, with superstars such as Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez being deeply missed.

Man City have dominated English football under Guardiola, winning six of the last eight Premier League titles and lifting the trophy four years in a row between 2021 and 2024. Guardiola has also led City to other silverware such as the Champions League, FA Cup (x2) and League Cup (x4).

However, the Cityzens’ ageing squad caught up with them last season as they fell down to third in the Premier League and did not manage to win any trophies.

City had an expensive January and have made further additions this summer, bringing in highly rated players such as Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki, Rayan Ait-Nouri and James Trafford.

They beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-0 away from home in their opening league game but were stunned by Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad on Saturday, losing 2-0 after goals from Brennan Johnson and Joao Palhinha.

During an appearance on talkSPORT, former Arsenal star Perry Groves claimed that a new era has begun – without City as regular champions.

The pundit said: “I think there’s a big issue. Football’s cyclical, right? This is the end of Man City’s cycle, I know their average age was 24 [on Saturday].

“If you look at the team they put out, there’s no aura about that team.

“There’s no presence or stature, if you look at the treble-winning side, when you had Kyle Walker, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Mahrez as well, they’re all players that imposed themselves on the game.

“I’m looking at this Man City side, and I know they’re in transition, they haven’t got that aura anymore.

“And you know you’re in trouble when your away team has more shots than you.

“That very rarely happens at the Etihad, normally, when they’re in their pomp, Man City, you’d go to Etihad and knew you had to take maybe one or two of your chances to stand a game on the breakaway.

“That’s not happening anymore, so I think the teams that go into Etihad now actually fancy their chances because they know that this isn’t the Man City team of old.

“So, I said before, I don’t think Man City are in the race for the title because of the age of their team.”

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Man City midfield still getting up to speed – Charlie Adam

Former Liverpool and Stoke City midfielder Charlie Adam analysed some of the reasons why Guardiola’s team might not yet be at their brilliant best.

He said: “I look at Man City’s team at the moment, they’re trying. Rodri is missing, Bernardo Silva never played, [Phil] Foden never played [both from kick-off].

“With that midfield [Nico Gonzalez, Cherki and Reijnders], there’s no real Premier League experience in that midfield compared to Tottenham.

“We’re talking about [Joao] Palhinha, who’s played in the Premier League, [Rodrigo] Bentancur and [Pape Matar] Sarr, all played Premier League football, so they’ve got that experience in there.

“I know they’re all good players, good footballers, Reijnders, Gonzalez and Cherki, but it takes time to really get the flow of it.

“And now for Man City, getting their key players back in terms of Foden, Silva, Rodri, I think will make a huge difference to them.

“But they have to find these solutions, and again, I still think, with the window open, Man City will look to do some business.”

City dropping out of contention for future league titles would delight Liverpool and Arsenal, who have been their main challengers in recent years.

Liverpool pounced on City’s frailty last term to win the Premier League during Arne Slot’s first season at Anfield.

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