Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has spoken out in the aftermath of his side’s 6-3 triumph over league leaders Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
The game – arguably the best game of the Premier League season so far – saw Theo Walcott score a brace on his return from injury, yet City’s firepower was even greater, and goals from five different Manchester City goalscorers was enough to see off Arsenal, who are now only two points clear of second-placed Chelsea.
City midfielder Fernandinho bagged a brace – his first goals for the club – to put the icing on the cake for an impressive City performance.
Whilst Pellegrini was happy to overcome the Gunners, the Chilean was disappointed to see his team concede three goals against his title rivals.
“It’s very important to be an entertaining team but I would prefer we won 6-0 rather than 6-3.
“Every manager can think the way they want to think, maybe some managers prefer to score one and sit back but we will continue to keep trying to score goals because that’s how we want to win.
“It’s possible to [win in attacking fashion without conceding] but the whole team must know how to defend. I will look the game again tomorrow but I don’t remember Arsenal having that many chances to score more than three.
The Citizens have now scored an emphatic 47 league goals in just 16 games, with Pellegrini’s attacking, flowing football paying dividends.
“Attacking, it was a very good performance.
“It’s not easy to score six against Arsenal – the best defence in the Premier League.
“But I think we had four more good, clear chances to score goals, so in that sense I’m very happy but we must keep improving.”
Pellegrini also gave credit to Fernandinho’s outstanding contributions, stating that the Brazilian had a “perfect game” against Arsenal.
“Fernandinho played a perfect game in all senses, not just his two goals but he recovered a lot of balls and had a lot of pace.
“I am very happy for him but you will see how good he is over the season – he will get better every week.”
“When we bought Fernandinho, we were absolutely sure he was a top player. I saw him many times in the Champions League.
The 28-year old Brazilian and man-of-the-match was also extremely pleased with himself and the fixture as a whole, adding that “it was great to finally score for City but the important thing is the team won and we took three points from this game. They are a strong team so we are very happy with the result.”
“He is a typical Brazilian midfielder, he plays very well with the ball, he has a lot of pace – he gets forward well. He’s doing very good work with Yaya Toure and I’m very happy for him.”
Fernandinho, signed from Shakhtar Donetsk in the summer for £30 million, has previously been cited as a ‘waste of money’, but when asked about the 28-year old’s price tag against his ability, Pellegrini gave a very clear and definitive response, stating that “important players aren’t cheap.”
Speaking of the Blues’ attacking options, Pellegrini was happy to praise key players.
“Yaya (Toure), Samir (Nasri) and David (Silva) all played very well today, too. The four in the midfield are very difficult to play against – the strikers can score a lot of goals with them behind them.”
Spanish winger Jesus Navas, who replaced the injured Sergio Aguero a few minutes into the second period, suggested that City “don’t fear anyone” and believes that if his team “continue to play like this, we will keep winning and scoring goals.”
Speaking with regards to the Argentine’s injury, the Chilean Pellegrini addressed the media’s inquisitions, adding that “Aguero has a problem with his calf. We’ll see tomorrow how many weeks he will be out.”
27-year old playmaker David Silva, who has just returned from a spell on the side-lines with a calf injury himself, suggested the potential significance of the result.
“It was a great game. The most important thing is that we won and that we are now closer to the top of table.
“We didn’t expect to score six goals. They are a great team, but we played very well and took our chances. At home we are doing very well.
“I feel good but I'm not 100%. I'm getting better each day and hope I can continue playing like this and keep scoring goals.”
