I hate to say it, but come May 2014, we'll all be quite sick of Navas. He's hugely frustrating, and while he will provide the width that many City fans have craved for years, he's not a good enough, or intelligent enough player to provide a genuinely top class option out wide. He's so quick, but it's one thing being quick, and one thing knowing how to use it. He beats a man on the outside and delivers a cross a few times per game, but the number of times he'll brainlessly run himself into dead ends is heartbreaking. His delivery is ok, nothing to shout about, but I do expect him to pick up a fair few assists by virtue of his pace and fairly good delivery alone.
As we're all aware, we play a very distinct, compact game, focused on central areas. In turn, teams pack the central areas and leave space out wide. The belief amongst City fans is that Navas is going to hug the touchline while everyone else is central and we're suddenly going to have much more space in the middle because someone will have to mark Navas. Wrong. Full backs will leave him out there, there's no reason to mark him, by the time a ball is sprayed out wide to him the full back will have had time to split from the CBs, the CBs will have shuffled across, and the danger will be averted. There's a reason why in our system players don't hug the touchline, it's because it's ineffective to do so.
What was noticeable against Arsenal was that we were determined to get the ball wide, keep the ball wide and put more crosses into the box. Whether this was a Pellegrini tactic, or whether this was a product of having two static strikers in the box and fewer options centrally is yet to be seen; I'll never know what Pellegrini instructed the boys to do, but should this pattern of play continue throughout the season it'll be evident that it's a tactical ploy. In this instance, Navas' value to the side will be increased. However, once Aguero returns - and Jovetic is integrated into the side - I expect play to be focused through the central areas again.
What Milner brings to the side? Well he's more intelligent for starters, he'll use the ball much more effectively and will play the percentages game. Years ago Milner was the type who'd run aimlessly down the wing into cul-de-sacs, a la Navas, but he's taken a lot of that out of his game and developed well as a footballer. Milner is also better technically and will score more goals. I'd be quite happy to see Milner play on the right ahead of Navas at times this season, but Navas deserves the chance to prove himself. Milner proved himself last season, he was one of our best performers, imo the pressure's all on Navas. As I've said before, and a few have also highlighted here, Navas will provide us with much quicker counter attacks and transitions, which will be essential in the big European games.
