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Former Aston Villa forward Gabriel Agbonlahor has claimed that losing defender Nathan Ake to injury will be a big loss for Manchester City.
Ake, who arrived from Bournemouth for £41 million in the summer of 2020, is a core squad member for Pep Guardiola's side. After starting just 10 Premier League matches last season, the 27-year-old has started all three of Manchester City's matches this season.
During his team's 3-3 draw at Newcastle United on August 21, the Dutchman was forced off the pitch after 21 minutes with an injury. He was replaced by Ruben Dias for the remainder of the Premier League contest.
Speaking to Football Insider, Agbonlahor shared his two cents on how Manchester City can cope with Ake's absence.
He said:
"I think it will be a blow but I think City are the sort of team that will be fine. They've [John] Stones, [Ruben] Dias, Rodri who can go back there and do a job."
He added:
"Teams don't really attack City as much as they do other clubs. Yes, Newcastle did but other teams sort of try and park the bus against City. There’s Kalvin Phillips who can come in and play there as well. So, City will be fine. It won’t be a worry at all."
In his post-match press conference, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola confirmed that Ake has suffered a groin injury and added that he won't feature in the friendly against Barcelona on August 24.
The expected return date for the defender is still unclear. The Cityzens will next host Crystal Palace on August 27.
Pep Guardiola lauds Nick Pope for his performance against Manchester City
Speaking after the 3-3 draw at St. James' Park, Guardiola reflected on the nail-biting encounter and told the club's official website:
"It's really good for us to live these kinds of experiences. I told them at half-time that we need to live this. We were 2-1 down, let’s see how we are as a team. The second half started well but we conceded a brilliant goal."
He continued:
"We kick off after the third, we attacked and we showed that we were there. We score two more goals and in general we create a lot of chances, one-on-ones against [Nick] Pope. England has an incredible goalkeeper there."
Manchester City are currently second in the Premier League table with seven points from three matches, two behind Arsenal.
