After progressing through our youth ranks and starring for Patrick Viera’s Elite Development Squad, the goalkeeper was on the cusp of the first-team when the boss arrived at the Etihad Stadium in the summer of 2016.
Ahead of City’s first pre-season under Guardiola, the now 53-year-old immediately started implementing his aesthetically pleasing and effective style of play on those already at the Blues.
And Gunn explained this included a valuable one-to-one lesson with the now three-time Champions League winning manager.
“They wanted the whole club to play the same way”, he expressed.
“When I went into the development team working with Patrick Viera, he wanted to implement the same style as well and he was a very demanding coach and very particular on the training pitch.
“And when Pep did come in, it was in the pre-season, he pulled me into the office and showed me clips of my games in the development squad, saying this is what he wants from his goalkeepers.
“For me to know that he saw clips of me when he wasn’t even here yet was pretty cool.
“It was surreal really, it was crazy. He obviously came in and I was on the preseason tour with them and it was actually before the first pre-season game.
“It was over in China and we played Dortmund. I ended up playing the second half in that game and I saved three penalties in the shootout afterwards.
“I don’t know if that has anything to do with it but those kind of experiences for me were really cool and ones I look back on with really good memories.”
Following Gunn’s promising loan spell at Norwich in 2017/18, he joined Southampton permanently in the summer of 2018 before returning to the Canaries in 2021.
In total, he has amassed 176 professional outings – including 37 so far this term for David Wagner’s side who are pushing for promotion from the Championship by the season’s end.
What’s more, the 28-year-old - who’s the son of former Norwich goalkeeper Brian Gunn - has made nine senior appearances for Scotland after making his bow for Steve Clarke’s side in March 2023.
And Gunn believes the education he received at the City Football Academy shaped the way he views the game today and has helped him adapt to different scenarios.
He added: “I think [City have] definitely [impacted the way I look at football].
“Growing up, part of my sort of youth career there definitely how, in terms of me and how I look at the gamed and liked the game to be played.
“At the same time, when you step into first-team, men’s football you’ve got to be adaptable as well because not every manager is the same and there’s different styles of play that people want.
“It’s also important to be open minded, adaptable and be ready to do what the manager you’ve got wants.”
