File Photo: Manchester City forward Omar Marmoush in action. Photo courtesy of Manchester City website.
City began their Premier League campaign with a commanding 4-0 win away at Wolves last weekend and now face Tottenham in Saturday’s much-anticipated second-round clash.
“The competition is very important for all of us – it’s healthy,” the 26-year-old Egyptian international told the club’s official website on Friday.
Marmoush, who came off the bench in the opener, said Guardiola’s depth of options drives the players to maintain their standards.
“Whoever plays, we want the team to be successful,” he explained. “If you come on from the bench, you give 100 percent, and it just pushes the level much higher in training. We always know that someone is waiting for their place to play – it pushes you to be better. It’s healthy.”
New signings strengthen the squad
Marmoush joined City in January from Eintracht Frankfurt and quickly impressed, scoring eight goals in 26 appearances last season.
He also featured three times in the FIFA Club World Cup, though City were eliminated in the round of 16.
Having helped the team secure a third-place league finish and Champions League qualification, he is now looking forward to building on that with the help of several new arrivals.
“Since the first day in training we’ve seen their qualities,” Marmoush said of summer recruits Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Aït-Nouri, Rayan Cherki, James Trafford, and Marcus Bettinelli.
“Aït-Nouri is very good on the ball and strong defensively. Tijjani is a box-to-box midfielder with a big offensive impact. Cherki has creativity in tight spaces. And James had a really good game and made an important save. We know their qualities and we’re very happy to have them – hopefully we can progress as a team.”
Excited for Tottenahm test
Marmoush’s last outing at the Etihad came in May, when he scored a decisive goal in the 3-1 victory over Bournemouth, sealing City’s top-three finish.
Tottenham, under new coach Thomas Frank, are expected to provide a stern test, but Marmoush is relishing the challenge.
“I can’t wait – I’m very excited,” he said. “It’s always nice to be at home and play in our stadium. Hopefully, it will be a good game."
“We’ve looked at their qualities, and they’ve changed the team and the manager. It will be tough, but I’m confident that if we put our qualities on the pitch, we’ll be very hard to beat,” he added.
“We’re just taking it game by game. With time, we’ll grow together and become stronger. At a club like City, the target is always trophies.”
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