Manchester City

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We asked for your views on City's new signing Nico Gonzalez, and the impact the signings will have on the squad.

Here are some of your comments:

David: The deal is the best of the window as it addresses the worst of our problems! Current solution of ageing players in central midfield with waning pace or young players easily bullied leaves us wide open to counters.

Robert: Very happy. Hopefully he will provide the defensive cover we need in midfield.

Stuart: A very good window for City. All are young and hungry. We need more energy, especially away from home when we can't always control possession.

The Athletic's chief soccer correspondent Rory Smith says Arsenal "humiliated" current Premier League champions Manchester City at Emirates Stadium, adding that Pep Guardiola's side should have "shut up shop" in the 5-1 defeat.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club, Smith said: "I don't understand why Manchester City were leaving themselves so exposed when it was obvious that if Arsenal got a run at them, they didn't have the legs to keep up.

"Yet for the fourth goal, there were Manchester City players who looked like they were running through treacle, as Declan Rice just strode away through the middle of the pitch.

"That goal turned what would have been a really psychologically important win for Arsenal, in the context of the title race, into a really historic thing.

"Arsenal didn't just beat them, they humiliated them.

"They needed to get out of there with their pride intact, but they gave Arsenal 10 minutes to take the game away from them."

Watch the full episode on BBC iPlayer or listen on BBC Sounds

Manchester City midfielder Jacob Wright has joined Norwich City on loan for the remainder of the season.

The 19-year-old has made four senior appearances under Pep Guardiola, all of which have come from the bench, having been part of City's academy since he was aged eight.

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Nico Gonzalez (£50m) became Manchester City's fourth signing of the window.

Forward Omar Marmoush (£59m) and defenders Abdukodir Khusanov (£33.6m) and Vitor Reis (£29.6m) joined earlier in the window.

Gonzalez's arrival takes Manchester City's spending this window up to about £180m, compared to £177m for the other 19 teams in the Premier League combined.

That's the second-highest spend in a winter window ever, behind Chelsea in 2023, who spent €330m (£275m).

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New Manchester City signing Nico Gonzalez says he wants to "test myself in England" after completing a permanent move from Porto.

The 23-year-old has signed a deal that will keep him with the club until the summer of 2029.

"This is the perfect opportunity for me at this stage of my career," Gonzalez said. "I am 23 and I want to test myself in England. There's no better club than Manchester City for me to do that.

"Look at the squad they have here... it's unbelievable, full of world-class players. There isn't a footballer in the world who would not want to be part of this setup.

"I know the reputation Pep [Guardiola] has and I cannot wait to work with him. In fact, I am honoured he wants me to play in his team.

"I am truly excited."

Director of football Txiki Begiristain added: "Nico is a very talented young midfielder. He is an ideal acquisition for Manchester City.

"It was a difficult transfer to complete because his performances have been outstanding, and he has been such an important part of what FC Porto are doing this season. We are really happy we have managed to get this done before the window closed."

Are you happy, City fans?

Tell us here

Manchester City have completed the signing of Nico Gonzalez from FC Porto.

The 23-year-old has joined on a four-and-a-half-year deal, for a fee believed to be in the region of 60m euros (£50m).

Gonzalez has featured 68 times for the Portuguese side, helping them to the Taca de Portugal last season, and has scored nine goals and provided nine assists during his time at the club.

• Read more here

What do you think of the deal, City fans?

Will Gonzalez plug the Rodri-sized gap in Pep Guardiola's midfield?

Let us know

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

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Manchester City are yet to reach agreement with Porto over Spain Under-21 midfielder Nico Gonzalez.

Pep Guardiola would like to bring Gonzalez to Etihad Stadium as he tries to find adequate cover for Rodri, who is unlikely to play in the Premier League for the rest of the season.

However, they cannot agree over the price and until that changes, it will not happen.

There is also interest in Douglas Luiz, who had two years with City but never played a game for the club as he spent both seasons in Spain with Girona.

But again, City and Juventus cannot agree over the structure of any loan move for the former Aston Villa midfielder.

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

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Manchester City have not suffered a Premier League defeat bigger than the one inflicted on them at Emirates Stadium on Sunday other than in the pre-Sheikh Mansour days, when they were hammered 8-1 at Middlesbrough in 2008.

The 5-1 loss at Arsenal will have sharpened minds about bringing in midfield reinforcements as City have been unable to plug the gap created by Rodri's major knee injury.

It seems Porto's former Barcelona midfielder Nico Gonzalez is the player that has been identified.

City have already spent £130m on new players this transfer window. It seems their recruitment campaign might not be over.

We asked you what would ensure you are satisfied this deadline day.

Here are some of your comments:

Jeff: It seems that Andrea Cambiaso has been identified as our new right-back and we desperately need one. I feel sorry for Matheus Nunes, a midfielder by trade, playing right-back one week and left wing another. We don't need a midfielder, we just need to play Phil Foden, Jack Grealish and Nunes in their natural positions.

Dazinho: I still think we need a right-back and a defensive midfielder. If we don't fill those positions, then we will always be vulnerable to attack. Douglas Luiz on loan and Ola Aina I like. But they probably won't happen now until the summer.

Brian: City must attempt to deliver a last-minute transfer surprise to buy a pacey holding midfielder. This would be the icing on the cake and complete an excellent January transfer window. January transfers are proving better now for clubs as teams re-position and re-profile for the remainder of the season.

It's the last day of the winter transfer window and Premier League clubs have until 23:00 GMT to complete their business.

We'll bring you all the news, views, twists and turns as the clock ticks down to deadline.

Follow it all here

Highlights and analysis from Sunday's three Premier League fixtures, plus the best of the action from the rest of the weekend.

If you missed Match of the Day 2, catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

And you can watch Saturday's Match of the Day here.

Listen back to the weekend's full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Bournemouth 0-2 Liverpool

• Wolves 2-0 Aston Villa

• Manchester United 0-2 Crystal Palace

• Brentford 0-2 Tottenham

• Arsenal 5-1 Manchester City

Phil McNulty
Chief football writer

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Manchester City's alarming habit of crumbling was on show again. Just as against Paris St-Germain in the Champions League last month, four second-half goals were conceded in an extraordinary collapse at Arsenal.

This was a side who won an historic fourth successive Premier League title last season. Has an elite team's form ever fallen off a cliff to such an extent?

City had brief hope when Erling Haaland equalised, but their demise was embarrassing once Arsenal quickly restored their lead, manager Pep Guardiola looking nonplussed and powerless in his technical area.

The injury to Rodri in the first meeting between these two clubs in September, which ruled the world-class midfielder out for the season, is understandably cited as a pivotal moment in the season - but it does not explain the sheer scale of City's capitulation both at home and in European competition.

City were shambolic in the closing half hour, Arsenal threatening to score every time they went forward and the final whistle a merciful release from the beating being inflicted on them.

They face holders Real Madrid in the Champions League play-offs for place in the last 16. On this evidence, Kylian Mbappe and company will be licking their lips in anticipation.

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We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Arsenal and Manchester City.

Here are some of your comments:

Darren: Lacklustre and dismal. They seemed to be battling up until Erling Haaland's equaliser, but as soon as Arsenal came back with their second goal, it just looked like City's wheels fell off. There were so many passes given away directly to Arsenal players and the lack of movement and consistency was disappointing. If City want to qualify for the Champions League next season, they have got a lot to do. Overall, frustrating and disappointing.

Brian: This was a great day for Arsenal and an 'eat humble pie' day for City. They were second best in all areas and clueless when needing to respond tactically. Keep-ball has had its day, with an aged squad unable to deal with vibrant counter-attacks. I never thought I would say it, but Pep Guardiola has to go. Fans know the response we need and now the owners have to call time on failure.

Steve: The makeshift defence was found out again. As soon as I saw Matheus Nunes and Josko Gvardiol having to play in defence, I knew City would get beaten easily. Pep has been found out after thinking that our ageing players could last another season - plus this is the worst injury list City have had in years. Arsenal were far better, but it certainly wasn't City's strongest team or close to it. City are a relatively easy win for any half-decent side this season.

Arnie: It's not that City have become really bad. It's that some of the other teams can read their game better and manage them. You can only play as well as you're allowed to.

Martin: Awful. I'm struggling to think of any player who played really well. Stefan Ortega and John Stones had a mare, Manuel Akanji and Phil Foden were way off the needed level and Nunes needs offloading tomorrow. Why play a midfielder, who then passes the ball back on most occasions, in defence? Just like Jack Grealish does. We had the pace of a Model T compared to a Ferrari. Get Scott Carson in goal for the FA Cup tie.

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has been speaking to BBC Sport following the heavy defeat: "I only regret the last 25 minutes. We forgot to do what we should do, what we had done for 65 to 70 minutes. Of course, it's a difficult game in this stadium, against that team, conceding in the first minutes - it has happened many times this season.

"But, after 10 to 15 minutes, I think we took the game and played really good. We are in it after 1-1 and we had good momentum. We pass to make the transition with Omar [Marmoush] and then comes a deflection and the third goal.

"But, after that, we then continued to do what you have to do defensively and we were a little bit more patient. When you're playing that way, they can run and, of course, at 3-1 they are comfortable so it is more difficult.

"I regret the last 15 to 20 minutes, but the rest was a really good game for our side. It's difficult to understand when you see the result, but this is my feeling.

"It's happened all season, we are giving away too many things. We are aware this cannot happen and it happened. But we reacted really well, we played with personality and we defended so good. Then we were a threat with the ball, but unfortunately after that the second goal happened. Again, many times we had the momentum.

"You have to overcome it. You cannot lose the control when it's 90 or 95 minutes. You cannot finish in the way we played. We could've scored three more goals, but the team has to be stable. It doesn't matter what happened."

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Manchester City defender John Stones has been speaking to Sky Sports following the defeat: "It is difficult. I think all of us don't take losing well. It is hard to put it into words, straight after a game like that - pride hurts. I'm sorry to the fans that have travelled to come and watch that.

"How we played in the last 30 minutes was not acceptable. Personally and collectively, it's not us. It is not nice to be involved in that when you know it's not your team in those situations.

"Credit to Arsenal, this is not an easy place to come.

"For 65 minutes, we played some great football at times. We were in the game and it was a swinging point. It swung the wrong way for us. I'm angry and upset, personally and collectively, about how the game finished.

"To get back into it after half-time was a great feeling and a good situation to be in, but then we concede after that from the deflection off me or a bit of luck. It is difficult when there is an overload at the back and you have a split second decision to come out. They got the luck on that one. I could have stayed more square, I'd have to watch it back.

"We cannot let those situations get on top of us. We stopped doing the things we meant to. It's difficult for me to put into words. I have not figured out why we are not picking up results.

"The passion is there, the training is there and everyone has the right intention. We haven't got to where we are without difficult times, and that is through everyone's career right now.

"We all have to stick together, that's a key point, so that we don't start to point fingers."

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Manchester City have suffered their heaviest defeat in a Premier League away game since losing 4-0 to Everton in January 2017.

Pep Guardiola's side have conceded four or more goals in a game for the fourth time this season, which is now the most times in a single campaign during his managerial career.

They have also conceded 53 goals in 36 games in all competitions so far this season, only one fewer than in 59 matches last season (54 goals).

Manchester City have committed eight errors leading to goals in the Premier League this season, their outright most in a campaign under Pep Guardiola.

Only Jacob Murphy (six for Alexander Isak) has provided more assists to a specific teammate in the Premier League this season than Savinho's five for Erling Haaland.

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