Micah Richards has urged Pep Guardiola to change the way Manchester City are set up ahead of Wednesday’s huge clash with Arsenal.
The Premier League champions host the leaders at the Etihad Stadium and could cut their lead down to just two points while also boasting a game in hand.
While there is still plenty to play for, it feels like a must-win for the Gunners.
Failing to pick up three points would extend their winless streak to four games, handing the advantage back to City.
Still, Richards has urged the champions to change tact.
Guardiola, who had been openly critical of his squad earlier this season before the switch, has most recently deployed a new formation.
Straying from the 4-3-3 system that has dominated domestically over the last few years, City now operate with three centre-backs in Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake.
John Stones has been moved into an inverted full-back role tucking into central midfield, leaving Kyle Walker on the bench.
Richards, however, believes the latter should come back into the side in order to deal with the “frightening” pace of Gabriel Martinelli.
"The pressure is off Arsenal because everyone expects City to win that game,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily.
“One way to play against City is on the counter-attack. I would play [Kyle] Walker in that game to stop Martinelli.
"His pace is frightening. Everyone talks about [Bukayo] Saka and [Martin] Odegaard, but nobody talks about Martinelli. On transition, he is frightening."
