Man City ready to punish Arsenal as Rodri shares details of team talks

Manchester City’s treble pursuit has been sparked by an in-house commitment to “punish” their opponents over the past two months which has duly been delivered on. Criticised memorably by manager Pep Guardiola for being “happy flowers”, City’s players have adopted a ruthless streak since which has given them a shot at two finals and another league title.

It was a mental shift, midfielder Rodri revealed, that was triggered by the frustration of being held to a draw at Nottingham Forest in the Premier League in February despite having 73 per cent of the possession. And City are now ready to “punish” title rivals Arsenal next week as they look to make another big statement in the title race.

“I remember the game in Nottingham, these kind of games cannot happen. We had a conversation. We identified the fact that we needed to punish our rivals,” said Rodri. “The quality of the performance was there, we were playing well, but it’s not enough to play good, you need to punish.

“That is where we have improved – finishing the games. You’ve seen it in the last months that almost every chance we score. Sometimes when you have bad moments, it can make you grow. You can learn. From that moment we switched on.

“Now we know that if we want to achieve everything then every game is a final and we have to win – that is the mentality.” Since that heart-to-heart, City have gone unbeaten in 12 games in all competitions and scored 39 goals along the way.

It helps, of course, when a team has a creator like Kevin De Bruyne who is enjoying his most productive season in terms of assists and a finisher like Erling Haaland. For Rodri it is their attitude without the ball which sets the tone.

“Look at Erling and Kevin, they make a great effort. You don’t see players of this quality running the way they do. It’s the key to success,” he said.

City now face a titanic Champions League semi-final showdown with Real Madrid on May 9 and 17 following another last-four clash this weekend at Wembley in the FA Cup with Sheffield United.

City manager Guardiola, who is set to be without defender Nathan Ake with a hamstring strain this weekend, is likely to rotate his squad with a critical Premier League meeting against Arsenal looming on Wednesday but he will not be taking a game against a Championship side lightly.

The FA Cup may be the lowest on City’s priority list but a trophy is still a trophy and they can’t win the treble without it. “That is what we work for,” said Rodri. “It’s a long way away but the mentality is the next game. We have the FA Cup, which is very important for the club and for me it would be the first time I won it. We have a good rival in Sheffield.”

The biggest stumbling block to their three-pronged assault could be the quantity of games as much as the quality of the opponents with a possible 13 matches in 36 days. “The schedule is what it is,” said De Bruyne. “It is very hard for us but it is a privilege playing in all these semi-finals. A lot of people want to be in our position.”