Zabaleta confirms he will stay at City

in his defence I think we were as a squad much less fit under Pelle than Mancini. The leanness and athleticism of our side in the first part of the 2011/12 season is where I hope to see us bounce back to under Pep, it's where we were found wanting last season and where we were bullied, I just think we were badly under-prepared last season.
 
If Guardiola believes Zabaleta is still capable of doing a job for City this season then so be it. I remain to be convinced given his form over the last 18 months or so. Zabaleta has been a fantastic servant to the club and is probably one of my favourite ever City players, but there's little doubting he's not the player he was 2 or 3 years ago. I have concerns entering the season with Zabaleta and Sagna as our right back options, both are the wrong side of 30 and age can catch up on professional sportsmen very quickly.
 
Matty said:
If Guardiola believes Zabaleta is still capable of doing a job for City this season then so be it. I remain to be convinced given his form over the last 18 months or so. Zabaleta has been a fantastic servant to the club and is probably one of my favourite ever City players, but there's little doubting he's not the player he was 2 or 3 years ago. I have concerns entering the season with Zabaleta and Sagna as our right back options, both are the wrong side of 30 and age can catch up on professional sportsmen very quickly.
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I think the age thing only become relevant once you start noticing a dip in form.
Almost overnight Zabaleta seemed to look slower and older, to such an extent that even his biggest fans were expressing concerns.
Sagna on the other hand was one of our most consistent players last season, and has just enjoyed a decent tournament. We certainly require a new right back, but maybe not two.
 
Scaring Europe to Death said:
I think the age thing only become relevant once you start noticing a dip in form.
Almost overnight Zabaleta seemed to look slower and older, to such an extent that even his biggest fans were expressing concerns.
Sagna on the other hand was one of our most consistent players last season, and has just enjoyed a decent tournament. We certainly require a new right back, but maybe not two.
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Given Sagna's form last season, and then his successful spell in the French team at Euro 2016, I don't think there were ever really any plans to offload him this season. Zabaleta was always the more vulnerable. I think what's probably saving Zabaleta's bacon is that there doesn't seem to be a top notch alternative out there. This Bruno Peres we've been linked with isn't exactly a household name, I doubt many of us had heard of him prior to City being linked. Plus, at 26, he's been nowhere near his national side yet. Maybe we're holding fire for 12 months to see if someone more impressive comes onto the market?
 
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