Nathan Ake name Arsenal star who has been outstanding this season as the toughest players he has ever faced
Manchester City’s versatile defender Nathan Ake has labelled three Premier League rivals as the most challenging opponents he has faced in his career.
The 28 year-old has been nothing short of a revelation for Pep Guardiola and his reigning Premier League champions so far this season, taking on a more complex role than his first campaign in Sky Blue in particular.
The Dutchman has this season been challenged to adapt to a left-sided full-back position, and take on that role even more so following the January departure of Joao Cancelo on a six-month loan to Bayern Munich.
With the position change has also come a change in opponents during the majority of his appearances, with Nathan Ake now often coming up against fast, tricky wingers as opposed to the often physical nature of centre-forwards.
Speaking exclusively to HYPEBEAST this week, the Manchester City star was asked to name the best players he has ever faced during his career so far, which has taken him to the likes of Chelsea, AFC Bournemouth, and now of course, the Etihad Stadium.
“(Roberto) Firmino was always a tough one because he could do everything – cuts in, drops deep, very good with the ball,” said Ake. “Lately, as I’ve been playing at left back, players like (Bukayo) Saka and (Mohamed) Salah are very difficult as well.”
On the subject of the best players he has ever played alongside, Nathan Ake’s options come in abundance, given the calibre of players that have played at both Manchester City and Chelsea over the years, as well as the incredibly high standards in the Netherlands’ national team.
Ake responded, “This is really difficult. I’ve played with a lot of very good players.
“At Chelsea I played with (Didier) Drogba, (Eden) Hazard, (John) Terry, and (Frank) Lampard, they were top of their game and now I play with (Erling) Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne,” he continued.
“So it’s difficult to say one. I’m going to put all those names up there.”
Nathan Ake is expected to continue his crucial role in the Manchester City set-up when domestic club football returns after the March international break, with Liverpool being their next opponents in a Premier League clash on April 1st.
April will also see the return of the UEFA Champions League, as City take on Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the competition, as well as an FA Cup semi-final tie against Sheffield United at Wembley Stadium.
