Troy Deeney says Man City should have signed £13m Arsenal star this summer

Troy Deeney believes Manchester City missed a trick this summer (Picture: Getty)

Troy Deeney believes Manchester City may have missed a trick by not rivalling Arsenal for one of their eight summer signings.

City enjoyed a busy summer of spending after an uncharacteristically poor Premier League campaign, which saw them finish 13 points behind the eventual winners Liverpool.

Pep Guardiola’s side saw big names such as Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, and Ederson depart the club but spent almost £180million on seven new faces.

Alongside their three new goalkeeper – James Trafford, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Marcus Bettinelli – City added Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Rayan Cherki, as well as youngster Sverre Nypan, to provide them with fresh look ahead of the new season.

Despite that, two defeats in their first three Premier League games suggest City have not yet shaken their bad habits from last season.

Their 2-1 defeat to Brighton before the international break was of particular concern, with City looking vulnerable and open at the back for large swathes of the encounter.

With that in mind, Deeney is unsure why City did not look to add more depth at centre-back and namechecked Arsenal signing Cristhian Mosquera as a player the club should have gone after.

Pep Guardiola’s side are yet to hit their stride this season (Picture: Getty)

Asked who else City should have signed to strengthen their squad, Deeney told The Football Exchange podcast: ‘One of the guys that Arsenal signed at centre-back. Maybe Mosquera.

‘Maybe him because like John Stones and Dias have been great, but they look now like they’ve lost like a yard on their step, like they’re scared to sprint before they get injured.

‘That does happen when you’ve had a lot of injuries, so they could have definitely done with another centre-back.’

Cristhian Mosquera made a promising league debut for Arsenal (Picture: Getty)

Mosquera arrived at Arsenal this summer from Valencia for only £13m and made his debut off the bench against Liverpool after William Saliba’s early injury.

The 21-year-old received praise from Mikel Arteta after his stand-in performance at Anfield, with the centre-back later lifting the lid on how his new boss has helped him adapt in his new environment.

‘When I made the change, I knew I was joining one of the best teams in the world, with the best players, that I would have to compete, and it wouldn’t be easy,’ Mosquera told Cadena SER.

‘Arteta is very happy with me. He’s very close and is helping me a lot with the coaching staff. You arrive somewhere new and you have to adapt quickly to a new playing system.’

Mosquera could be in line to make his first start in the league for the Gunners after the international break, with Saliba expected to be sidelined for a month with his ankle injury.

Arteta’s side host Nottingham Forest at the Emirates next Saturday as they look to get back to winning ways following their 1-0 defeat to Liverpool.

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