Manchester City: The Hunters in the Premier League

Mateo Kovacic knows exactly where Manchester City stand. Back in the pack, chasing, with a target on their backs and a clock ticking on an era.

The Croatian midfielder has admitted the champions of almost everything are now the hunters in the Premier League, not the hunted, after two seasons watching Liverpool and Arsenal take turns at the top.

“Pressure is on everybody … on us especially, because we haven’t won it two years in a row,” he told the South China Morning Post. No dressing it up. No deflection. City, the side that once made title races feel inevitable, are now under orders to reclaim what they used to treat as theirs by right.

City’s response to a shifting landscape

For four straight seasons, City bent the league to their will. Then came the jolt. First Liverpool, then Arsenal, breaking the sequence and shifting the narrative.

Now the picture looks different. Chelsea, Kovacic’s former club, have thrown money and ambition at the problem, spending heavily again this summer in an effort to crash the title conversation. Arsenal, stung by near misses, are pushing too, with Mikel Arteta describing his club as “very active [in our player search] trying to improve and evolve”.

Clubs are moving aggressively. Squads are being rebuilt, retooled, refreshed. City, for once, are not the only superpower with a clear plan and deep pockets.

“Clubs are spending a lot. Chelsea’s one of them, and I think they added some great players,” Kovacic said, acknowledging that the competition is not just louder, but stronger.

The message is clear: City’s margin for error has shrunk.

Life after Pep on the horizon

Looming over it all is the question that could redefine the league: what happens to Manchester City when Pep Guardiola goes?

Kovacic did not promise he would be part of that first season without the Catalan on the touchline. The uncertainty around the post-Guardiola era hangs in the background, even as the current squad tries to wrestle the title back.

For now, though, the demands remain the same. Win. Set the pace. Silence the noise.

“Big clubs are about winning, so you always feel the same pressure,” Kovacic said.

The difference this time? City are no longer defending a dynasty. They are trying to restart one, with rivals circling and the future of their greatest architect edging ever closer to a decision.