The resurrection of Man City man back to his brilliant Borussia Dortmund best.
Speaking at the start of December, Marti Perarnau, the author who charted Pep Guardiola’s time at Bayern Munich with incredible detail, declared that Gundogan was “not in good shape,” but that the midfielder “could arrive in March and April at a very good level” if he were to play roughly 20 matches over Christmas and beyond.
“He’s not fit, he’s not in good shape,” Perarnau told the 93:20 podcast. “But he understands very well the tempo of the play that the team needs at each moment, like David Silva.
“I think he needs 20 more matches in his legs. He hasn’t played too many matches in the last three years.
“I hope in 20 matches we will see a very good Gundogan.”
He has played in 17 games since that interview, a rough total of 1,150 minutes, and the evidence suggests Perarnau was right.
Gundogan’s two-goal, man-of-the-match performance against Basel in midweek was a reminder of the form he was starting to produce last season, before a serious knee injury forced him to miss roughly 10 of his 18 months as a City player.
"I love to play for this club, for this manager, with these team-mates, it’s just fun," Gundogan said after the game in Switzerland. "Every single guy understands, is feeling it, and can see it that we have a very special group, with a very special atmosphere."
He is finally starting to play his role in that group, the role expected of him when he signed from Borussia Dortmund in 2016.
After all, he was the very first signing of the Guardiola era, designed to be come in and help the Catalan impose his fast passing style in English football. As Perarnau notes, Gundogan understands the flow of a game just as David Silva does.
But, thanks to his injury, in his 18 months in Manchester he has only fleetingly shown his best qualities.
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