Guardiola confirms Grealish exit: Arsenal panic as Aston Villa stand to win big

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 12 Apr 2024 11:10 BST
• 4 min read

Pep Guardiola hammered the final nail into Jack Gealish’s Manchester City career on Sunday with his on-field performance after a scoreless Premier League draw with Arsenal.

Grealish was handed a 30-minute cameo as a substitute in the big match but was unable to offer City the solutions they were after as they chased a victory that would have dragged them to within a point of Liverpool at the top of the table.

Instead, they are third, three points behind Liverpool and with a significantly poorer goal difference.

READ MORE: How Aston Villa would line up with Jack Grealish

Grealish was forced to take the brunt of Guardiola’s frustration. Throughout the game, the Catalan barked instructions at the former Aston Villa winger while at full-time he pulled the England international aside for an animated discussion.

There were rumours last week that City were unhappy with Grealish’s development at the club and would be open to offers in the transfer window. On Sunday, Guardiola all but confirmed the €117.5 million signing can go.

READ MORE: Romano confirms Man Utd interest in INADEQUATE Christian Eriksen replacement

Grealish transfer blows open transfer market

Grealish’s imminent Man City sale could have a profound impact on the summer transfer market.

Most obviously, it leaves the defending Premier League champions looking for another winger.

FootballTransfers understands that they could turn towards Wolves’ Pedro Neto – assuming, of course, they have not been put off by the Portuguese star’s latest injury problems.

This spells bad news for Arsenal, who have long earmarked the 24-year-old for a move to the Emirates Stadium. Tottenham have also been credited with an interest in the former Braga star.

City’s financial muscle immediately puts them as favourites to land Neto should they take a serious interest in the player.

In turn, if Wolves make a big sale for Neto, this complicates Manchester United’s hopes of landing defensive midfielder Joao Gomes, though at the price the Midlands club have put on the Brazil international, they would be well advised to steer clear in any case.

Aston Villa, meanwhile, could be the big winners from this saga.

Grealish has previously indicated that he would love to go back to Villa Park, and although a deal could be complicated because of the finances involved, the Birmingham outfit appear to be an ideal fit for the fan-favourite winger.