Silva could be City's top Gun this campaign

THE last time City needed a hero at Wembley in the FA Cup, it was Ilkay Gundogan who stepped up.

- SIMON BAJKOWSKI

Erling Haaland pillaged 52 goals for the Blues last season but they had all but dried up by the final month of the campaign. That didn't matter though because this was Gundogan season against Liverpool, against Everton, against Leeds, and then in the cup final against United.

Not content with scoring the fastest goal in the history of the fixture, Gundogan added a second after the Reds had controversially levelled from the spot to make sure that City would win. It was the best form of one of the club's greatest matchwinners, and it culminated in the perfect ending in Istanbul.

It shouldn't be controversial to say that the Blues aren't as good as they were last season, and a big reason for that has been the decision to let Gundogan leave on a free transfer. City's captain left for Barcelona because he wasn't offered close to what he wanted soon enough at the Etihad, and even if that error hasn't been publicly acknowledged the fact that Kyle Walker was offered a three-year deal to resist Bayern spoke volumes.