After the defeat to Tottenham today condemned Manchester City to remain five points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal, the captain for the Blues loss Kyle Walker spoke post-match about how he was feeling after City missed a golden opportunity to close the gap to Mikel Arteta’s side.
“It’s disappointing, obviously. We’ve come here to pick up three points and get a result at this stadium. We move on now, onto the next game and try to go on a run that we know we can do” [via @ManCity], said the England full-back after yet another poor showing from City saw them fail to capitalise on Arsenal’s defeat to Everton. Walker knows City are capable of going on a magnificent run and blowing their competitors away however, City do not seem capable of stringing performances together in fact Pep Guardiola’s side haven’t won three consecutive fixtures in a row since November 5th of last year, which required a 95th-minute penalty from Erling Haaland.
Walker was asked about Haaland’s current situation after the Norwegian failed to have a shot for the first time this season, it has become apparent in recent weeks the striker’s runs are not being picked up by his teammates. “I think it’s a process. I think everyone that’s come to Manchester City where I’ve been here for six years, it’s a difficult team to fit in because the manager demands so much, the way we play it’s unique.” Walker quite rightly came to the defence of his teammate, as the Norwegian has scored an incredible 31 goals in 28 games, despite the debate of whether he fits City’s system.
“Listen, Erling has been fantastic, no one says anything about Erling when he’s scoring goals and we’re winning. All of a sudden now we don’t win or he doesn’t score is it a problem, do we play better without Erling? I hear it all the time but no one’s complaining when he’s got I think it’s 25 [league] goals already this season” said the 32-year-old right-back, who was making just his 11th Premier League appearance of the season.
If City are going to go on a run like Walker has stated they can, and win their third consecutive Premier League crown it’s going to have to start soon as the Blues cannot afford too many more hiccups if they plan to catch Arteta’s Arsenal side.