James Kelle

There was another project at Manchester City in 2017, which showcased how plugged into the City matrix Arteta had become. City had produced a piece of work which proved the hypothesis that the higher the level of competition, the less time and space players have to shoot. An academy coach devised a drill to work on it in training. Through the relationships he had built, Arteta got wind of this and introduced it to the first-team environment, but he adapted it so it was more game-realistic. The finishing of Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane and Gabriel Jesus improved almost immediately at the start of that 2017-18 season. The numbers show Sterling went from seven league goals in 2016-17 to 18, Sane from five to 10, and Jesus from seven to 13. Sterling’s conversion rate increase was particularly impressive, almost doubling from 10.9 per cent in the 2016-17 Premier League season to 20.7 per cent a year later. Having finished third and 15 points adrift of title winners Chelsea in Guardiola’s first season, City were crowned champions in that second campaign with the only 100-point haul in Premier League history. [@TheAthleticFC]