“It’s money time now,” says Kolo Toure. “This is when Michael Jordan makes his money because he’s the one who’s going to make a difference. They give him the ball when the pressure is high. This Arsenal team has Bukayo Saka. This boy has a special talent.’
Touré, a two-time Premier League winner with Arsenal in 2003/04 and Manchester City in 2011/12, discusses why Saka is the one to walk into Arsene Wenger’s Invincibles team today.
“Of course Saka,” Toure says. Thierry Henry was special. He was always the guy who carried the team, who pushed us. In the locker room at halftime he came in and kicked things, yelled. It was scary, but you could tell this was a guy who would do anything to win.
“Saka, he’s got passion, he’s got desire, he’s got technique, he’s got everything.. When a game is tight and I see a player willing to put pressure on the ball and make a difference, we like that. In the coming games he has to show that age is nothing. It’s about the talent.’
Starting with City, a match Arsenal cannot lose, lest they want to give their rivals a clear run for the title. Toure admits he prefers to be in the City camp now: “They have the momentum. The Arsenal players, right now, in their heads, there’s a lot of doubt there. Arsenal have slipped three times. They’ll think, “Oh my God, they’re getting us.” If you run and look back, you slow down.’
Kolo Toure has discussed the title race between his two former clubs ahead of their clash
Toure says Bukayo Saka would be only current Arsenal player to join 2004 Gunners Invincibles squad
Arsenal celebrate their unbeaten season in 2004 in which Touré (far right) played a major role
Out of work after leaving Brendan Rodgers’ backroom at Leicester and following a fateful spell in charge of Wigan, Toure is keen to return to coaching. For now he is a spectator, a former winner of Arsenal and City who can’t wait for Wednesday’s showdown.
While Touré won’t say who he wants (emphasis) to win, he predicts that Pep Guardiola’s team will eventually have too much for Mikel Arteta’s, with William Saliba’s back injury coming as a blow.
Touré was in the City squad on the day Emmanuel Adebayor sprinted all over the field to celebrate for Arsenal fans amid a 4-2 win. He was the first to approach Adebayor to lift him from his knees.
“In the game, I have to be honest, I was just as passionate as Adebayor,” says Toure.
“When you play against your old club you really want to show them how much they miss you. That’s what we were all trying to do. Adebayor did that, but he showed more than anyone else!’
According to Toure, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko will be desperate to bring City down after being deemed surplus to requirements by Guardiola.
“Those two players want to hurt City and show how big a mistake they made to let them go,” Toure said.
Jesus looks at Erling Haaland and thinks, “They brought this guy to play my position. He’s fantastic, but I’ll show them.” Zinchenko the same: “You didn’t rate me highly? Did you think I was a team player? I want to show you that I am better than the players you have.”
The Ivorian also played for Manchester City and says he would rather be in their position now
Toure has been out of work since January after a disappointing spell as Wigan manager
“They’re going to give everything. You can see from the beginning of the season that Zinchenko is the one who always brings the team together because he wants to hurt City.’
Will Jesus kneel like Adebayor when he scores? Laughing, Touré says: ‘I don’t think he’s going to do that. There is only one Adebayor.’
City doubted they would win the title in 2011-12, the first of their glorious golden era. They were in doubt when they lost 1-0 to Arsenal with six games to go – thanks to a goal from Arteta – while eight points behind Manchester United. They doubted it when they lost to Queens Park Rangers until that Sergio Agüero moment.
Arsenal will now begin to doubt themselves despite being five points ahead of City, as Toure says: ‘When you’re so close to winning a title that you haven’t won before, you don’t have that experience. It’s very stressful. You feel close, but the closer you feel the more pressure you have. A simple pass is like, “Oh my god…”, doubting everything. It will be difficult if Arsenal don’t win. They will be gutted.’
It’s Game On for the title. Watch Man City v Arsenal, the biggest game of the season, live exclusively on BT Sport 1 on Wednesday 26 April from 7pm. BT Sport will broadcast all Premier League midweek matches from Tuesday 25th to Thursday 27th April. Watch 30 days of BT Sport, contract free, for £29.99 a month with the BT Sport Monthly Pass. Click here for more info.