Getting regular game time at Manchester City is no easy task, but Rayan Ait-Nouri has highlighted the positives of having a competitive group of players.
Rayan Ait-Nouri has not had the easiest start to life at Macnhester City. He began his time at the club with a 4-0 victory over Wolves, but picked up an ankle injury at the beginning of September which brought his progress to a sudden halt.
The Algerian had to remain patient before re-emerging for his team, but he would go on to be absent again due to representing his country at AFCON.
However, Ai-Nouri now has a clean bill of health and no impending international commitments, meaning he has been able to offer all his focus to the Premier League title chasers.
Rayan Ait-Nouri praises healthy competition at Manchester City
Ait-Nouri has recently experienced a good run of fixtures in Pep Guardiola’s starting lineup, featuring in each of his team’s five previous matches.
Yet even when things are not as straightforward for the defender, he is still willing to overlook his own personal desires and instead focus on Man City’s needs. As a result, he has insisted it is good to have competition in the squad, even if this prevents him from playing.
He told French Moon: “It’s healthy competition. We train every day to try to play. We push each other to reach the best performances.
“Everyone gets along really well. Whoever plays on the pitch gives everything for the team and tries to be as effective as possible.”
The left-back added: “Manchester City is always in the mix [for winning trophies]. There are big challenges coming up, so we need to be ready and take it match by match.
“It’s a huge club – everyone wants to win. That’s the most important thing. We train every day for those matches and those wins. We need to stay ready and keep working.”
Ait-Nouri will be delighted by his former club
Manchester City’s task for the season is ultimately to finish on more points than Arsenal in the Premier League, which means Ait-Nouri will be very pleased with his old team.
Wolverhampton Wanderers scored a stoppage time equaliser against the Gunners on Wednesday night which saw them drop valuable points.
Thanks to this extraordinary moment, Man City would move within two points of the league leaders with a victory over Newcastle this Saturday.
