Peter Smith

That was just his fourth start in all competitions the other night.

So...

When we talk about the next round of the Champions League being a little way off, this period over Christmas would at least give Guardiola the chance to maybe experiment a little bit and perhaps give people like Foden a little bit of time in the team so they're there and at it when the knockout rounds come round.

Yeah, I mean, Pep's never been short of nice things to say about Phil Foden, but as you say, it has been a slow, slow step up from that situation.

That's a great shout isn't it and we're getting to that stage where Southgate will be thinking about that and I suspect he's got a good bulk of that squad decided on who's going to go but there will be a few places up for grabs and as you say maybe if someone goes on a run there could be room there.

On the other side of the coin, they go to Arsenal this weekend.

After nine games without a win, it was a much needed three points at West Ham.

James, was that a turning point or were we papering over the cracks a little bit when you just wake up and see that result and you think, oh, Arsenal are back on the road, but was it really like that?

It's difficult to say, papering over the cracks.

I think from a player perspective, there seems a lot of positive words coming out from the players about Freddie and his sessions and how enjoyable they're finding it under him.

Nicolas Pepe...

scored a decent goal against West Ham on Monday night.

Is that going to be a turning point for him?

Obviously, he looks like he's got a knee knock, so a little bit of a doubt for this game against City, but that was an encouraging sign, I thought, for Arsenal.

Yeah, it would certainly be a good opportunity for him if he is fit.

Oli, you covered Arsenal's draw at Standardly Age last night for us.

Are you impressed by Saka's performance?

OK, so some signs of life there for Arsenal fans to hold on to then at the moment.

So we're going to see a few goals then?

Yes, plenty of firepower there for Arsenal and it sounds like it should be a good open interesting game for the neutral.