“This is who we are. This is our team. This is City.”
It’s been a few days since the Manchester Derby victory but sat at Man City’s training ground, Gianluigi Donnarumma is still basking in the glory.
He’s not interested in Erling Haaland’s controversial winner – though he’s still annoyed Phil Foden was “harshly” sent off earlier in the game – as something else pleased him. A man down, everything going against them – City showed mettle and won.
“I loved my team-mates’ performance, it was sublime,” he tells Sky Sports. “The capacity to stay in the game and to react to difficult moments – no one can take that away from us.
“We will give everything for this shirt, for this club that gives us so much and offers us so much great support. It has a great history, and we need to give a lot back to it.”
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Not many had City down to hold a 100 per cent record this season ahead of the upcoming, lengthy international break – especially after losing the core of a successful era in Pep Guardiola, Bernardo Silva, John Stones and Rodri.
City have not been entirely convincing in certain areas – even Donnarumma says there is still lots to learn despite the faultless start to the Enzo Maresca era. But this was meant to be a transition season at City.
“I don’t really like the word ‘transition.'” he adds. “The club’s objective is to win. This team’s objective is to win. We’ll certainly give everything we can to achieve that.
“We could reach the end of the season having won something, or having won nothing. But what’s important is having a winning mentality, going out there and trying to win everything we possibly can.”
Part of that winning mentality is being driven by Donnarumma – who is part of a newly-formed leadership group that replaced the likes of Bernardo, Stones and Rodri.
Donnarumma sits alongside Ruben Dias in the leadership pecking order, along with Haaland and Marc Guehi. All four players have one thing in common: they all have won trophies both at City and at other clubs in their careers.
Man City have won four games from four at the start of this Premier League season
So as the likes of Ayyoub Bouaddi, Elliot Anderson and Ilimian Ndiaye settle into their new team – tasked with making an immediate impact in a non-transition year – the leadership quartet are there to drive the standards.
“We’ve changed a few players. A few new ones have arrived,” says Donnarumma. “They’re all top players who are used to playing on the biggest stages, dealing with certain situations, and playing in the Premier League.
“It’s not easy at the beginning when you move to a new club, a new organisation, a new city. But they’re adapting well, and we’re making them feel comfortable.
“The players who were already here are helping them a lot. I think we’re going to have a great season.
“The objective is to get to the end and compete for everything there is to compete for – in addition to the Premier League, there’s the Champions League and the two domestic cups.”
It’s a clear warning from City that anything is possible when it comes to this team. But when it comes to Donnarumma’s aim of challenging for the Premier League and the Champions League, one team stands in the way: Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta’s side have also started the season with five straight wins – and have the added recent psychological boost of pipping City to the Premier League post last May.
The recent Guardiola documentary showed down and disappointed scenes from City players as they slipped up at Bournemouth to hand the Gunners the title. Donnarumma – who had won the league title in each of the previous five seasons before last term – was one of them.
Donnarumma missed out on the league title to Arsenal
“It’s difficult, but that’s football, that’s life. You’re not on your own,” he says about that disappointment. “There are other strong teams, especially in the Premier League.
“It’s not that if you don’t win there isn’t disappointment – of course there is – but it can happen because there are other teams as well, just like in the Champions League.
“It’s important to go into every game trying to win it. Certainly, our objective will be to win, but there are other teams too.
“You have to compete, you have to work, and you have to do everything possible because the history of this club demands it.”
Kick off 2:00pm
Will it be City and Arsenal again competing at the top come May? “I don’t know. We’re only four games into the season,” says the Italian goalkeeper.
But the stall has been set out. “Our focus right now has to be on working and trying to win every game. That has to be our objective.
“Whether we achieve it in the end or not, only time will tell.”
Watch Man City vs Norwich City in the Carabao Cup third round on Thursday night, kick-off 8pm.
Then watch Man City vs Sunderland in the Premier League live on Sky Sports’ Super Sunday from 1pm, kick-off 2pm.