Wright-Phillips explains why Man City aren't worried about Arsenal in title race
Former Manchester City star Shaun Wright-Phillips isn’t so sure that next season’s title race will be another family affair.
Wright-Phillips, son of Arsenal legend Ian Wright, reckons his old man allowed himself to get too carried away by the Gunners’ failed bid to beat Pep Guardiola’s treble-winning Blues to the Premier League trophy last time out. And he insists it isn’t just another wind-up when he predicts that the biggest challenge to stop City from winning a fourth successive title might not emerge from the Emirates.
Wright-Phillips, 41, who now works as a club ambassador at the Etihad Stadium, dropped into a TV studio to show his dad the trophy when Arsenal’s draw at Nottingham Forest confirmed City as champions for a third successive season - and it was decked in blue and white ribbons.
“To be fair to my dad, he took it very gracefully,” recalled Wright-Phillips, who is helping to spread the City word in Japan and South Korea during City’s pre-season tour of East Asia.
“He had to admit that City deserved it after winning both games against Arsenal. He thought they were fantastic during the run-in and deserved to be champions.
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“I didn’t gloat - that’s what he does. My dad got a bit carried away earlier in the season, so I gave him a little bit back when City came good - just like I said they would.
“We’re not worried about Arsenal next season because there are so many other teams who have got stronger during the summer. I think there will be more opportunities for other teams to try to claw back at both City and Arsenal.
“But I think City are unbelievable. They are so good that people are starting to run out of words to describe some of these players. Everyone talks about (Erling) Haaland or Kevin De Bruyne. But if you think about the team as a defensive unit, playing with four centre-backs, it’s a tactic that’s never been seen before in the world of football.
ITV Sport pundit Ian Wright is an Arsenal legend (Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Image)“Pep just sees what others don’t see. I’m a City fan and it’s just a case of ‘in Pep we trust.’ We all follow what he does because it always works.”
Wright-Phillips believes City’s first Champions League triumph has propelled the club into another stratosphere. All three tour games in Tokyo and Seoul have sold out and he has been taken aback by the pace at which City’s fanbase has grown.
Wright-Phillips is perfectly placed to gauge the progress they have made both on and off the pitch. City were in the third tier when he joined as a 17-year-old and when he returned to the club in 2008 after a title-winning stint at Chelsea, the Blues were just 12 months away from the takeover that would transform them into serial winners.
Wright-Phillips said: “I wasn’t prepared for what I have seen in Japan but it just shows where this club has got to. City’s players aren’t just stars in England anymore. They are global superstars - and the fanbase just keeps growing.
“Since winning the Champions League, interest in the club has grown massively. That’s how you build a fanbase, by playing this kind of football and being successful.”
Wright-Phillips feels Guardiola’s team will now be remembered alongside Manchester United's Treble-winners of 1999 and Arsenal’s 2004 Invincibles. But he reckons that there is even more still to come under the Catalan.
He added: “It’s an incredible mental challenge to keep winning things, but when you play for Pep you have to be ready for it or you won’t get in his team. It’s not the physical aspect that matters, it’s maintaining the mental strength, hunger and desire to win after you have been successful.
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“They don’t just want the Premier League trophy. They want everything. I think that after winning the Champions League, people know that this is a great team.
“City, United, Arsenal all deserve to be remembered for what they did. But if you look at points totals over the last seven to 10 years, I think the Invincibles would have won the title once with the number they got. That shows you how much standards have improved. I haven’t told my dad that yet - it’s my ace card.”
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