Manchester City News Roundup - Barcelona interested to sign a City player in January, Sergio Aguero escapes retrospective action for an incident in the Arsenal game - 18th October 2020

Manchester City picked up a win against a resolute Arsenal side on Saturday for their second Premier League victory this season.

On that note, here is the latest from the Etihad on the 18th of October, 2020.

Barcelona to sign Manchester City's Eric Garcia in January

Eric Garcia, Manchester City

Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman has said that the La Liga club could look to sign Manchester City's Eric Garcia in January. The Catalan giants tried to sign the Spaniard in the recently-closed transfer window but failed to agree on a fee for the 19-year-old.

"There is a chance for sure that we are going to have another go for Garcia. But right now I don't know how the finances of the club would be in January, so I have to wait and see," said Koeman.

Manchester City COO Omar Berrada has said that the club did not sell Garcia as Pep Guardiola wants to keep the youngster at the club this season. Garcia broke into the Manchester City first team last season after coming through the ranks at the club, having joined from Barcelona at the age of 16.

Ronald Koeman has reportedly urged the Barcelona board to seal a move for Manchester City defender Eric Garcia.Latest football gossip 👉 https://t.co/IqXQa9IpOv #bbcfootball #Barca #ManCity pic.twitter.com/7fhpW1qpCZ

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) October 18, 2020

Berrada said in this regard:

"Eric has developed into an important player for us and played some important games, especially in the last few months – semi-finals of the FA Cup, quarter-finals of the Champions League. We believe that he can add depth to the squad and can be important in important games."

Berrada continued:

"This is a season that is going to be very difficult for the players, physically and mentally. It's very congested. There will be a lot of pressure to play many games both in terms of club competitions but also the international games that they have to play, so it is all very concentrated and congested."

Sergio Aguero to face no retrospective action for placing his hand on the assistant referee's shoulder in the Arsenal game

Sergio Aguero will face no retrospective action after placing his hand on assistant referee Sian Massey-Ellis' shoulder during Manchester City's win against Arsenal. That is because, according to Premier League rules, players are not penalised for making contact with an official unless it is done so in an aggressive manner.

According to @JamieJackson___, no retrospective action will be taken against Sergio Agüero for putting his hand on Sian Massey-Ellis’ shoulder pic.twitter.com/JSuV5mm49t

— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) October 18, 2020

Pundit Alan Shearer deemed Aguero's action as one that was completely avoidable:

"He shouldn’t put his hand on the assistant referee. It just wasn’t a good look, Gary, was it? He shouldn’t do it."

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, however, defended his forward:

"Hey, come on guys. Come on guys. Sergio is the nicest person I have ever met in my life. We can look at the problems in other situations but not in this one. Come on."