former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said that he's sees similarities between Manchester City's defensive situation and one he occurred during his time at the Emirates Stadium.
Pep Guardiola's team were in Champions League action against Real Madrid when center back Aymeric Laporte was forced off with injury after just 33 minutes when he was replaced by Fernandinho.
It was just the Frenchman's fourth game back after sitting out the majority of the season with a long term knee injury.
The injury means that Man City are now short on central defensive options for both the Premier League and Champions League, with Guardiola criticised in some quarters for not bringing in a replacement for Vincent Kompany who left in the summer.
"I think Man City spent a lot of money on defenders," Wenger said on beIN Sport. "If you look over four or five years they spent a huge amount of money.
"That shows that it's not easy to find the defenders who strengthen their team. Everybody is looking for defenders.
"When I was at Arsenal everybody says 'Well you have to find defenders' but we’re sitting there saying; ‘well, big defenders are not anymore easy to find even with a lot of money'.
"They have disappeared and that’s why they have a job to do there. If they lose Laporte until the end of the season it could be a handicap for them in the Champions League. The Premier League is decided so that has gone, now their target they have the quality to win the Champions League but of course they need to be solid defensively."
Man City went onto win the game against Real Madrid 2-1 thanks to a goal from Gabriel Jesus and a Kevin De Bruyne penalty.
