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Pep Guardiola often throws metaphoric grenades into his selection – and he did it again when Manchester City faced Arsenal on Sunday.
Nobody predicted that Fernandinho would play at the Gunners center, even if they had the names of the 11 players in front of them.
And yet, the fact that the manager chose to choose his only defensive midfielder in the fourth row – even with a brief incursion into the midfield when City was in possession of the ball – was a marvel in itself.
John Stones was left on the bench, a 47 million-pound defender purchased for his great potential as a defender capable of entering the midfield with authority.
It is likely that Stones will be back for his return to the former Goodison Park club tomorrow night, with Fernandinho in his more usual role as anchor of the midfielder.
After the match, Guardiola's surprise choice was stabbed and he was seen sharing a long affectionate hug with the Brazilian star in the tunnel after the match had told his own story.
He said in his first season that if he had ten Fernandinhos in his team, he would win every trophy, as much in tribute to his versatility as his character and abilities.
And that was at the heart of his answer when asked if Stones should worry about dropping out of his position for a midfielder, as well as wanting to incorporate all of his best middle stars field to his team.
"Maybe … It 's one of the smartest guys I have, it' s not stupid, but that 's the reason I' d like it. I made the decision that he understood, "said Guardiola." We used backs such as Zinchenko and Fabian Delph inside to play an extra midfielder and we used that situation with Fernandinho.
"And I saw Ilkay Gundogan during the last period was in top form, which is why I wanted to use more midfielders in this match.
"Maybe tomorrow I'll use another way, it depends on how they defend or attack.
"He (Stones) knows that he has to be ready because he will play. I think it was the second highest number of minutes for a league defender, but in that game I wanted to use that situation. This is not unusual in the way we played in the last year. "
Insisting that Stones was specifically bought to play this role, Guardiola said, "That's right, but it's for now what I feel, the ability, the skills are still there, but after us let's see the players. "
Stones made a nightmare return to Goodison in his first season with City, while Guardiola suffered the heaviest defeat of his career, a 4-0 defeat.
But this performance will have no impact when Guardiola chooses his team tomorrow night.
"At Goodison, John Stones was not the only one struggling, everyone struggled a lot," he said.
"We did not lose because of John Stones, come on. When people say that he plays well, that 's why their teammates help him to be good.
"For example, in Newcastle, our forwards did not play well but our process from behind was slow, not good and it's difficult.
"Against Arsenal, his intention was faster and more aggressive. When a player received the ball, the way he controlled it, his body language, his aggression, you read it immediately and even at 1-1, the team was playing well.
"That's what happened but in Newcastle, it was not."
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