Graeme Souness believes Pep Guardiola is 'deliberately' digging out players in public in order to motivate the squad in their pursuit of Arsenal.
Prior to City's emphatic 7-0 win over RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday, Guardiola spoke in his press conference on how Kevin de Bruyne needed to start getting the 'simple things' right after finding himself on the bench in two of the last three league matches. His public criticism seemingly did the trick for de Bruyne, as he returned back to his best in the week, which can only be good news for City for the rest of the season.
Having won four of the last five Premier League titles, some City players have perhaps taken their foot off the gas at times this term, with captain Ilkay Gundogan even questioning the side's 'desire and hunger' back in January. That said, they are still very much in the title race as they sit just five points behind Arsenal.
