Rico Lewis sends message to Arsenal after Man City drop points at Newcastle

Rico Lewis has dismissed any feelings of panic at Manchester City after a week in which the team dropped four points. He described the last seven days as “difficult” and “ridiculous”, referring to the late draw against Arsenal and the squandered lead at St James' Park.

Despite Kyle Walker's visible frustration and Jack Grealish's interaction with an elderly Newcastle fan, Lewis believes the two points secured against tough opponents will prove valuable by the end of the season.

As City prepare for their Champions League match in Bratislava on Tuesday, Pep Guardiola is seeking a solution to Rodri's injury absence, saying: “We will find a solution.”

With Kevin De Bruyne also injured, Lewis and Mateo Kovacic are expected to step in despite Rodri's lack of stature and power. Ilkay Gundogan is still adjusting after his late return this summer.

Reflecting on the tough week, Lewis said: “It's been a tough week with tough games. When you look in the grand scheme of things, maybe we'll be happy in the future with the way we've done this week.

“We want to win every game… we have to take the negatives and positives, improve on what we can do best and continue doing what we were doing well.

“We are disappointed to have lost two points but we have to take the positives from it. It's difficult. Everyone knows how tough and ridiculous the schedule is, but we can't not play, we have to keep going.

“That's why we have so many high quality players in the team. We need everyone and we never know when we will be done with them.

“If you look at the details of the matches we would probably take a point against Arsenal. It was a tough match. Here we want to win but it is a difficult place to come and not many people will come here and win easily. C It's hard to say but it's football.”

Lewis, at just 19, is mature enough to answer questions about how much City have missed the injured Rodri, as he looks forward to the opportunity it gives him in midfield.

He added: “It will take time. If someone is injured, it's the same. We know how important Rodri is but the situation is over now, we can't do anything about it and we have to react and sort it out. problem ourselves. This will come with time.

Josko Gvardiol's opener was canceled out at Newcastle by Anthony Gordon's penalty and both teams had a good chance of winning it.

Lewis started at right-back but considers himself a midfielder, and Guardiola's praise is an incentive to improve further.

He said: “It's really nice but with this also I have to prove to him that he is right and when he compliments me I have to do just as well in the next match. It's an encouragement to continue doing well .

“I don't really have a 'best' position at the moment. There's a long way to go in my career. I like to play in the pocket, I like to play as a midfielder with the ball but I also likes to play fullback.

“It’s not always a bad thing to have options but maybe in the future I will have a clearer position.”