French creative talent Cherki arrived at City from Lyon in the summer transfer window and after being laid low by injury at the start of the season has really come to the fore over the past month or so.
Blessed with sublime vision and technique, Cherki also demonstrated his eye for goal by executing a quite magnificent strike in last Wednesday’s 2-0 Carabao Cup quarter-final win over Brentford.
Meanwhile, Spanish holding midfielder Nico, who moved to City from Porto last winter, has also made a key contribution this term, smoothly anchoring the Blues’ engine room in the absence of the injured Rodri and Mateo Kovacic.
The duo’s impact hasn’t gone unnoticed or unappreciated by the City boss.
But reflecting on their contributions so far as he addressed the media at Friday’s pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s Premier League home clash with West Ham, Guardiola also pointed to their vast untapped potential.
“[Rayan has been] Really good especially for the age and the personality he has,” Pep said.
“He plays like he plays in the street, but I want to push him. I don’t want to give too many compliments, but we are really satisfied.
“His impact in the final third, goals and assists is impressive.
“But we cannot forget he’s still so young and has the mentality to be better.
“[There are a] few things, he has to improve.
“[On Nico] The position we have right now wouldn’t be possible without him.
“With no Kova or Rodri, we don’t have a proper replacement that’s why he covers well.
“He’s young. He helped a lot but like Rayan and everyone he has the margin to improve and be better, especially with the ball and we’re working on it.”
The Blues will go into the game on the back of a tremendous run of form that has seen us win six games in succession across all competitions including four in the Premier League.
That has helped lift Guardiola’s side to within just two points of leaders Arsenal with City also through to the Carabao Cup semi-finals and riding high in the UEFA Champions League composite table.
Looking ahead to the visit of the Hammers, the boss said he was he was more than happy with the mood and spirit in the squad – but insisted he wanted more from the side.
“I said before one month ago, even when the results were not good, [that the vibes were really good],” the boss added.
“Many things are positive, the way we play we are not at the level required to win title [right now] but the margin is there to improve and that is nice.
“We can do better. I think we got results but there are a lot of things we need to do better.”
City v West Ham tickets
Get into the festive cheer for the nearest home fixture to Christmas as we welcome West Ham!
We face Nuno Espirito Santo’s men on Saturday 20 December with a 15:00 (UK) kick-off at the Etihad.
Tickets are on sale to Cityzens Matchday and Junior Members - it’s three tickets per Member.
All adult Cityzens Matchday general admission tickets are priced between £30 - £60 while Under-18 tickets are between £15- £30.
The Blues have won every home fixture with the Hammers since Pep Guardiola’s arrival into the City hotseat with this game always an exciting one.
Two matches of late have been especially noteworthy with Erling Haaland breaking the single-season Premier League scoring record in the May 2023 clash as he received a Guard of Honour from teammates after the game.
And then, a double from Phil Foden and a superb strike from Rodri ensured a 3-1 triumph over the Londoners in May 2024 on the final day of the season as we collected Four-in-a-Row Premier League titles.
Make sure you’re here for this latest edition!
