Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling has proclaimed that the arrival of Pep Guardiola has made him better, as the Englishman is set to start for City in the clash with Napoli.

He has been massive for me

It has been quite the start to life for the Englishman at the Etihad Stadium since his big-money move from Liverpool back in 2015, especially since the arrival of Guardiola last season.

However it did look like that his short tenure at Eastlands would be coming to an end in the summer as Sterling was potential leverage in a swap deal for Arsenal's Alexis Sánchez, but Guardiola quickly qwashed those rumours.

Sterling has become a key player in the Catalan's side in the new campaign with seven goals in ten matches in all competitions, and ahead of the clash with Napoli Sterling praised Guardiola for how "massive" he has been in improving his game.

“He’s been massive for me especially with basic stuff," Sterling told his pre-match press conference. "He always tries to get you to do the simple things at top level and that's the genius thing about him. It works, too."

“I just keep growing, learning and living the game – of course," the young forward stated. "There are ups and downs in football when things don’t go your way, but you pick yourself up and aim to be the player you want to be."

“I’ve always played on the wing, but I like to get into the box," the 22-year-old proclaimed. "That said, wherever the manager plays me I’ll be more than happy."

"I’m really enjoying my time at City," Sterling added. "We’ve made a great start and I’m playing for a great manager.”

Got to keep a level head

It has been excellent start to the campaign for The Cityzens, with the club sitting pretty at the top of the league table ahead of rivals Manchester United and remaining unbeaten in all competitions.

It was another astounding performance on Saturday with Sterling getting on the scoresheet in the 7-2 drubbing of Stoke City, they will facwe a much tougher test on Tuesday with the visit of Napoli in the Champions League and Sterling stated that they will need to keep a "level head" against the Italians.

“It was a massive performance from boys," he said on Saturday's drubbing. "Just a bit of disappointment that we conceded either side of the break."

"But we showed great character," the youngster proclaimed. "It’s early days and we’ll continue to build."

“We’ve got a big game coming up tomorrow," he told the press on Tuesday's clash with Napoli. "We’re confident as a team that we can play good football."

"We just need to keep a level head," Sterling concluded. "And be confident our ability to have a good season in the UCL.”