We have started the 2023/24 Premier League in exceptional form, winning all six games to top the embryonic table.
After Wednesday’s Carabao Cup defeat at Newcastle United, we return to league action at Wolves on Saturday.
Wolves v City | Match preview
Ake, who signed a new contract with the Club during the summer, featured 41 times during the 22/23 campaign and has already played eight matches this term.
While he’s proud of his Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup medals from last season, the Dutch defender remains hungry for yet more silverware.
He says that’s a feeling reciprocated by everyone at the Club.
“The manager demands a lot from us and we demand a lot from each other in every game,” he said.
“The manager demands a lot from us and we demand a lot from each other in every game,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter what game it is, we want to perform and you have to perform at the highest level always.
“The Club demands that of you, the manager demands it and that is why our mentality is always to try and win every game.
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“I think last season we could really feel that we were on to something. To be honest, at the start of this season I don’t feel any different.
“I think maybe people thought from the outside ‘they’ve won the Treble and now they are going to relax now’, but I don’t have that feeling at all.
“Straight away from the first game of the season we wanted to go again and we won. It is not enough, we want to keep winning and winning.
“I think that is just a nice mentality to have as a Club, as the manager pushes us and as players as well.”
City have been without a number of key players in the early weeks of the season, including Kevin De Bruyne and John Stones.
That has left Pep Guardiola with limited options but Ake feels that helps players gain consistency.
“We never really have the biggest squad,” he stated.
“You know when you’re in this squad that you are going to be used at one point.
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“You always have to make sure that you train well and you’re ready to be able to play because the manager will trust you to play in any game.
“That is maybe the plus side of having a smaller squad, that you know everyone is ready to perform and to play.
“I think that is why the training is also at the highest level, because everyone needs to be focused and ready to perform. I think everybody knows what to do and is ready to play whenever.”
City’s squad has been bolstered this summer by four major signings – Mateo Kovacic, Josko Gvardiol, Jeremy Doku and Matheus Nunes.
Doku, the electric winger who scored his first City goal at West Ham, is Belgian but can speak Dutch.
That has seen him strike a good bond with Ake, who believes the No.11 has shown plenty of promise in his first weeks in Manchester.
“He is settling in very good,” said Ake.
“He is a fun character and everyone likes him in the changing room. For me, it is easy to speak to him because he speaks Dutch, so we can have good conversations.
“He is a very nice guy and I think that makes it easier to settle into the team.
“Every time he has played, he has played really well. He is so dangerous and always creates something, whether it is chaos for their defence or opportunities for us.
“There is certainly more to come, but the start is very promising.”
