Manchester City Manager Pep Guardiola Hails Nathan Ake's Attitude Following West Ham Performance
After being utilised as a rotation option for most of the last two seasons, Nathan Ake was called into the first eleven for Manchester City's opener against West Ham and put in a solid performance, earning praise from his manager for his patience in waiting to gain an opportunity.
The
centre-back even put in a number of solid performances while playing out of
position at left-back, reflecting his impressive versatility.
With
Aymeric Laporte out until September with a knee injury, a space opened up at
left-back and Guardiola opted to deploy Ake in the vacant position over John
Stones. The 27-year-old made the most of his opportunity and put in a solid
performance in City's win against The Hammers.
Speaking
in his pre-Bournemouth press conference, his manager was questioned on whether
he needed to reassure Ake that he was an important part of City's squad.
"Absolutely
not,” the Spaniard replied, via Mancity.com. “The players know that I want
everyone to be happy here. There are always rumours and offers in the summer
transfer time. Maybe he had an offer."
Guardiola
is aware no player is happy to consistently find themselves on the bench but
praised Ake for his attitude despite his lack of minutes, saying: “But it is
not because I am now happy with how Nathan is playing. Last season I was
incredibly happy. You cannot imagine how nice that guy is.
“I
always talk about how I like to work with the nice people. People I understand
and you cannot believe how nice he is. Always I say in moments be patient
because the calendar is crazy.
“And
Nathan always waits his moment, always helps and that is why he is incredibly
respected in the locker room.
“Of
course, Nathan is sad when he doesn’t play… that’s normal.
“But
in the moment of training and after that in the locker room, always he is
exceptional."
Considering
how well Ake played against The Irons, it would be no surprise if the Dutch
centre-back retained his place in the team in The Cityzens' upcoming match
against Bournemouth. The Sky Blues will be looking to earn another three points
against the newly promoted side, with the match taking place at 3 pm this
afternoon at the Etihad.