Maresca says Manchester City needed major spending to keep pace with Arsenal

Enzo Maresca says Manchester City’s heavy summer investment was essential if the club were to compete with Arsenal for the Premier League title this season.

City’s 1-0 victory over Coventry on Saturday saw Enzo Fernandez and Iliman Ndiaye make their debuts after both players joined on the final day of the transfer window. Their arrivals completed a rebuilding programme costing more than £450m.

Maresca defended the scale of that spending after the match, saying he had been monitoring Arsenal’s start to the campaign closely and believed squad depth would be decisive in the title race.

“If you look from the Community Shield game, you can see that Arsenal have played two more matches and they have made five changes in each game,” the Manchester City manager said, as reported by ESPN.

“They have two World Cup winners in Mikel Merino and Martin Zubimendi, England internationals in Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke, and I do not remember the fifth player exactly but I think it was Piero Hincapie.

“In the end, if you want to compete for big titles, you need different options. Arsenal have options, we have options and other clubs have them as well, so it is not only about us. I am very happy with the options we have, and that is crucial if you want to compete.”

Fernandez joined City in a club-record £125m deal on the final day of the transfer window and was initially named among the substitutes against Coventry. He was brought on before kick-off after Nico O’Reilly suffered an injury during the warm-up.

Ndiaye started on the left, while Ayoub Bouaddi was introduced from the bench in the second half.

Despite the attention surrounding City’s new arrivals, another summer signing, Elliot Anderson, was the standout performer. He was named player of the match after completing more passes than the whole of Coventry’s team.

Maresca praised Anderson’s display but said the midfielder’s performance was part of a wider pattern since his arrival.

“I am very impressed with his performance, and not only today; he played very well against Crystal Palace, and he was also excellent against Bournemouth despite joining us only one week earlier and being taken off because of a muscle strain,” Maresca said.

He added that Anderson’s willingness to learn had made the strongest impression.

“But the best thing about Elliot is his passion every day; he is always asking how he can improve, and we have individual video analysis sessions with him so he can see how to improve his performance, and that is the best impression any player can give.”

City’s victory over Coventry came with Fernandez, Ndiaye and Bouaddi all involved, while Anderson’s influence underlined Maresca’s belief that a deep squad will be required to challenge Arsenal and compete for major honours.