Manchester City defender Pablo Zabaleta believes that fellow Argentinian Sergio Aguero is okay with competition for places.
Aguero has been on the bench for City’s recent victories against West Ham United and Swansea with new signing Gabriel Jesus starting up front.
Aguero doesn’t mind competition
Zabaleta believes that Aguero will be fine competing for a place alongside Jesus. He said: “He's a mature guy. Listen, years ago it was (Carlos) Tevez, (Mario) Balotelli, (Edin) Dzeko, Kun (Aguero). It's not the first time he's been dropped. We need a strong squad to win titles."
He added: “You have more than one big player in each position. And, of course, Sergio has been playing for most of the years as first choice. Now we have Gabriel Jesus, who played the last two games and did really well."
The Argentine continued, "I think it's good to have two players with that quality and healthy competition in the team. You know you have to perform well to keep your place in the team.”
However, the right-back also feels that Pep Guardiola could eventually play both men in the same side if necessary.
Zabaleta said: “If the manager decides to try to play them both together, they could do that. We play in a 4-3-3 with one central striker and that's why probably at the moment one of them needs to play up front on his own. But Gabriel can play on the left.”
Jesus’ immediate impact
Jesus has made an immediate impact since arriving from Brazilian side Palmeiras for £27m. The 19-year-old striker has scored in two of his three appearances so far for Manchester City.
The Brazilian scored twice this past weekend against Swansea and was one of the goalscorers in City’s 4-0 rout over West Ham last week. He also provided an assist in the victory at the London Stadium meaning he became the first City player to provide a goal and an assist in their first Premier League start.
Jesus also picked up an assist in the 3-0 FA Cup victory over Crystal Palace and almost had a goal from the bench on his debut against Tottenham but it was ruled out for offside.
Whether Jesus can continue this form in the coming weeks is yet to be seen but it will certainly be a difficult task to keep Aguero on the bench.
Aguero’s old competition
As Zabaleta mentioned it isn’t the first time that Aguero has faced competition for the striking position at Manchester City with the likes of Edin Dzeko, Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli all vying for the position in the past.
While Aguero has retained the position for the majority of his spell at the Etihad he was often played in a front-two alongside Dzeko and Balotelli as it suited their play styles. Guardiola could yet play Aguero and Jesus together up top or Jesus could end up playing a wider role.
Either way it is hard to see Aguero sitting on the bench for too long after becoming an integral part of Manchester City’s side since his arrival in 2011. He has since scored 154 goals for Manchester City in 234 appearances.