5 min readKolkataAug 20, 2026 07:25 PM IST
It was the last match of the 2020/21 season. The outgoing Sergio Agüero had just scored twice as champions Manchester City demolished Everton 5-0. Yet coach Pep Guardiola was in tears. “We cannot replace him, we cannot,” Guardiola said of the Argentine forward after the match. Five years later, City face the unenviable task of replacing Guardiola himself, who stepped down at the end of last season after a decade in charge. His successor, Enzo Maresca, a former Guardiola assistant who left Chelsea in January, signed a three-year deal at the Etihad, with City reportedly paying around £17m in compensation to get him. He was badly exposed last Sunday, when City were thrashed 3-0 in the Community Shield by defending champions Arsenal. They looked so underprepared that they went a goal down in just 23 seconds.
The Community Shield loss isn’t the end of the world on its own, but if City aren’t careful, they could be staring at a period of irrelevance similar to what neighbours Manchester United went through after losing Alex Ferguson. United still haven’t found a suitable replacement, having changed managers 11 times since, including permanent, interim and caretaker appointments. City have the money to sign almost any player Maresca wants from the current market, but finding someone who can replicate Guardiola’s success will be a different problem entirely.
Maresca found that out the hard way at the Community Shield. His City side, who were challenging for the title last season under Guardiola, looked lost against the Gunners, outrun in midfield and shaky at the back. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma had a below-par outing too, and should have done better to prevent Arsenal’s second and third goals, scored by Kai Havertz and captain Martin Ødegaard.
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Erling Haaland and record signing Elliot Anderson, both returning from a post-World Cup break, looked well off the pace. Nico O’Reilly, playing in midfield alongside the underused Mateo Kovačić, struggled to contain Arsenal’s movement, leaving space for their wingers to exploit. With the City forwards short of rhythm, Maresca’s side pressed reluctantly while the defence held a high line, and Arsenal took full advantage of the space that created, cutting through the City backline with ease. “We are quite clear about what we need to do. And for sure, as I said, we are going to do something before the transfer window closes,” Maresca said after the match.
Man City lost to Arsenal 3-0 in the Community Shield match. (AP)
That something, reportedly, is a move for Chelsea’s Enzo Fernández, whom Maresca worked with previously at Stamford Bridge, and who he may see as a way to fill the hole left by World Cup-winning Spain captain Rodri, who signed for Barcelona on Tuesday. Their styles differ, Fernández pushes forward more than Rodri ever did, but the Argentine offers a steady hand in midfield, with assertive passing and an eye for goal, something City need after losing both Rodri and Bernardo Silva. City are also pursuing Ayoub Bouaddi, Morocco’s World Cup breakout from Lille, while offloading Tijjani Reijnders to Al-Qadsiah after a single season in Manchester. Manuel Akanji, Nathan Aké and John Stones have already left, and Tottenham are reportedly interested in taking Savinho and Omar Marmoush off City’s hands, as the club prepares for life after Guardiola.
As all this suggests, it will be easier said than done. Guardiola was a master of adapting and evolving; even in the seasons considered failures by his own standard, 2024/25 and 2025/26, when he conceded the title to Liverpool and then Arsenal, City still finished second in the table. “Ten years is a lot of time, and I think the club needs a new manager, new energy. These incredible players we have right now, and start to write another chapter,” Guardiola had said in his final pre-match press conference.
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Guardiola’s legacy will hang over every manager who succeeds him, whether they like it or not. They will be measured against the man who transformed City, leading them to four back-to-back Premier League titles and their first-ever Champions League, in 2023. That is the weight Maresca must carry as City begin a new season without the Spaniard in the dugout for the first time in a decade.
