Ilkay Gundogan is going into his sixth season at Manchester City, and by his own admission is surprised he’s still at the Etihad Stadium.
Ilkay Gundogan said: “I remember myself joining the club a few years ago, being on crutches after surgery that I had on my knee. That is five years in the past and now, five years later, I am still here. I am maybe a bit surprised that I am still here, but I feel very comfortable and very happy to be a part of this club and to be able to live in this city. The happiness is still the same, the excitement about everything is still the same, it just feels like the Premier League gets tougher and harder, more intense.”
Gundogan has seen enough of the Premier League to know how tough it will be to retain the title this season, as he challenged City to maintain the high standards of their previous successes.
Ilkay Gundogan said: “I think it is a lot of things that come together. First of all, maybe the amount of games you play with the cup competitions that we have, the Premier League games you have, the Champions League and internationals altogether. Especially now with the extraordinary circumstances with covid going on. But then I also think it is a human being thing. Being in the same place for two, three, four, five, six years, is more difficult rather than changing location every couple of years where automatically you are going into a new excitement. Maybe it is that you just need to try and find a point that you want to achieve every year again and you need to set different targets not just for yourself but for the team. Especially if you did so well in the past few years like we did, it is even more of a challenge. It is about proving everything again and that is why we are here and why we feel privileged to play in the best league with one of the best clubs. That is the challenge.”
Gundogan ended last season as the club’s top scorer, as he enjoyed a more advanced role from his usual defensive midfield deployment. The German, 30, is one of City’s senior players, and will face added competition from new signing Jack Grealish in the attacking midfield positions. Given the number of talented players available to manager Pep Guardiola, Gundogan admits he wasn’t expecting to still be at City at this stage of his career, as he previewed another season.
