Manchester City are on the hunt to win a fifth consecutive Premier League title.
Last season saw City become the first side to ever win four league trophies in a row after beating Arsenal to the finish line.
Even though Pep Guardiola’s side are looking to win it again, their pursuit has hit some speed bumps in recent weeks.
Specifically, the Blues lost four league games in a row, which led to Jamie Carragher ruling City out of the title race.
However, Wednesday night saw the champions pick up a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest, making it their first victory since October.
Following this game, a pundit and former top-flight player pinpointed one particular figure in City’s squad he thinks could play a vital role throughout the next few months of the campaign after seeing him in action against Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.
Manchester City's English midfielder #10 Jack Grealish and Manchester City's Portuguese midfielder #20 Bernardo Silva (R) react following the Engli...
Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images
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Paul Merson highlights Jack Grealish’s importance after Forest win
Speaking live on the Sky Sports News TV channel on Thursday morning after seeing City beat Forest the night before, Paul Merson gave this assessment on Jack Grealish and what he offers the team.
He said: “People say Jack Grealish doesn’t beat people and he doesn’t go past three or four players, but what he does is he holds the ball and he draws players in.
“When he draws players in, that means someone’s spare.
“And you can’t leave someone like Silva, who had one of his better games last night, but Kevin De Bruyne’s on the pitch, so he plays better. And he leaves one of those free and if you leave people like Kevin De Bruyne free, Silva free and Doku free, you’re going to get ripped to shreds.
“It’s the start of a run. It’s a start. This is where it all starts.”
Guardiola was thrilled with Grealish’s display against Forest
When asked to assess the Englishman’s efforts after the game, Guardiola shared his verdict on Grealish and how he performed from midfield.
He said: “Played really good, played in the middle, was involved in many things and hopefully, if I decide to play him in that position, can be involved in the final third, being decisive in the passes and the goals and the assists.”
“But he gave us what we need, our football was always built in the midfield, the quality that makes our tempo and the glimpses of speed that we make outside and in the way you have to play and after the glimpses of speed from outside, but the control of the game, Jack [Grealish] gives us that pace, when to accelerate, how to add more control, he played brilliantly, I’m so happy for him.”
Starting his first league game of the season in a deeper midfield role rather than in his usual left-wing spot, Grealish ended up making three key passes in the match against Forest.
He also made one crucial block and two tackles to show how effective he can be off the ball in a defensive sense as well as on it going forward.
Now that Merson has explained how useful Grealish is for City and what he offers the other players in the team to be able to do, he will hopefully go on to play a key role for Guardiola and help the club add more silverware to their cabinet.
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