Nathan Ake insists Pep Guardiola was wrong about controversial Tottenham claim
Nathan Ake reckons Tottenham are proving that they were never just Harry Kane ’s team.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola sparked fury a few years ago when he suggested Spurs were a side that belonged to the England captain. But Kane’s departure to Bayern Munich in the summer has not prevented Ange Postecoglou’s reign as manager from sparking a real air of excitement at White Hart Lane - and City defender Ake has warned that the champions face a stiff test at the Etihad.
Tottenham ’s blistering start to the campaign has been slowed by an injury crisis and three successive defeats. But Ake said: “Clearly Harry Kane was scoring a lot of goals for Spurs - and if you take that away from any side it will be felt.
“But although Kane has gone, they have bought some new players like James Maddison, who are really good. Maddison was playing really well before he was injured - but there are other players who have stepped up and are scoring goals. (Heung-min) Son has stepped up, there is also (Dejan) Kulusevski who has done really well, and (Brennan) Johnson has come in and has done well.
“They have a lot of people who are top players. It was never just about Kane. There is a lot more to Spurs than that. They are playing some really, really good football this season. We know they have had a few injuries, which has made it difficult at times, but even then they are playing great stuff, so will be a tough game. We have to make sure we are ready and fresh.”
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Ake knows that City will face a tough task against Tottenham (Mark Kerton/Every Second Media/REX/Shutterstock)City’s bid to become the first club to win four successive Premier League titles has been slowed by successive draws against Chelsea and Liverpool. But Guardiola’s side hit back from 2-0 down to beat RB Leipzig on Tuesday night to maintain their 100 percent record in the Premier League.
That stretched City’s unbeaten record in the competition to 18 matches - and record for an English club. And Ake reckons the comeback illustrated that the hunger of Guardiola’s squad was not satisfied by last season’s historic Treble.
Pep Guardiola infamously called Tottenham 'the Harry Kane team' (PA)“We know we will never give up,” he said. “Even in the first half, when we know we didn’t play our best game, we still had a lot of chances and things could have been different. We can always create opportunities and score any time. Obviously every one of us wants to win, but I don’t think anyone is looking back to what we did last season. For all of us, last year is last year. No-one has that on their mind.
“As for other players who have come here, everyone wants to win, everyone wants to beat us, so it isn’t easy. What we have to do is concentrate on keeping our quality as high as we know that means we can win most games.”
The Dutchman also has another box to tick. City head to the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia later this month - and Ake said: “We are going to fight so hard for that, because the club has never won it.
“I know how the tournament might be viewed by a lot of people from the outside, but as far as we are concerned, we really want to win it. You only get the chance to go for that trophy if you have won the Champions League. Well we have given ourselves that opportunity and we all want to take it. It would be nice to be able to call ourselves world champions.”
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