Gundogan: Man City boast ridiculous quality and huge potential

The reigning Premier League champions endured a wobble in December and came unstuck in their last outing but still believe anything is possible

Ilkay Gundogan considers Manchester City to have “ridiculous” quality up front and “huge potential” to go on and collect more major honours.

Pep Guardiola’s side swept to a record-breaking Premier League title triumph in 2017-18, recording a century of points and over 100 goals.

They also captured the Carabao Cup as part of a domestic double, and are in the process of trying to defend both of those trophies in the current campaign.

A place has been secured in another Wembley showpiece, while there are also FA Cup and Champions League quests being pieced together.

The odd wobble has been endured along the way, with a festive dip in form surprising many, but Gundogan is convinced that City can continue to challenge on multiple fronts.

Ahead of a home date with Arsenal in which the Blues will be looking to close the gap to Liverpool at the top of the table, the German midfielder told Sport360: "I think the games we lost in December opened our eyes a little bit you know.

"We were not efficient enough anymore and made some mistakes so we conceded goals too easily.

"After these games we knew we had to improve, especially defensively, because the quality we have up front is ridiculous and we know we can always score.

"I think in the title race it’s crucial to be defensively as solid as possible.

"With the quality we have in the team, it feels like every player can replace the other one and the quality does not drop.

"There’s huge potential in that team and we have to show it on the pitch."

After taking on the Gunners, City will make a trip to Everton before playing host to Chelsea.

Gundogan is aware of the importance being placed on a testing run, with the first leg of a Champions League clash with Schalke to come on February 20.

He said: "These home games with Arsenal and Chelsea are very important.

"We are going out to win these games, but you can’t deny both have a lot of quality and it’s very important to be good defensively against these teams and not concede – and then I believe we can win both games with our quality."