Jamie Carragher claims Leroy Sane is like 'Ryan Giggs at his best' as Pep Guardiola's training secrets pay off

Former Liverpool defender claims City scored the best three goals he's ever seen in one half as Thierry Henry offers an insight into Guardiola's ways

Leroy Sane dazzled against Arsenal as he helped set up two goals before scoring the third himself (Getty)

Jamie Carragher hailed Manchester City’s second 3-0 victory over Arsenal in the space of four days, claiming that the performance of Leroy Sane was on a par with “Ryan Giggs at his best”.

Having relied on their second-half display to blast aside Arsenal in last Sunday’s EFL Cup final victory, City raced out of the blocks to put the home side three goals down inside 33 minutes, with Bernardo Silva, David Silva and Sane all finishing slick moves from the Premier League leaders.

The victory puts City within five wins of winning the title, having re-established a 16-point lead at the top of the table, but while Arsenal have been roundly criticised once again for their seventh defeat in 2018, City have also been lauded for one of the performances of the season.

That praise was none higher than from former Liverpool and England defender Carragher, who compared Sane to one of the Premier League’s all-time greats despite the German forward being in just his second season in the English top flight.

“I don't think I’ve ever seen three goals in one half of football as good as this,” Carragher said on Sky Sports. “This from Sane… it's Ryan Giggs at his best.”

The 22-year-old raced past four defenders to assist Bernardo Silva for the first goal, before his move down the left allowed him to cut the ball inside for Sergio Aguero to tee-up David Silva, with the Spaniard scoring his second goal in as many games against Arsenal. Finally, it was Sane’s turn to find the back of the net and he finished off Kyle Walker’s low cross via a deflection off Hector Bellerin’s foot.

"We had a really good first half. We played really well altogether, Sane told Sky Sports after the match. "We scored three goals - two counter-attacks. Every one of us played the ball really well at a fast speed."

Sane’s impact was not lost on his teammates either, with fellow goalscorer Bernardo Silva heralding Sane’s mazy run through the heart of the Arsenal defence before laying it off to the Portuguese to curl in a long-range effort form the edge of the area.

"My goal was great play from Leroy Sane,” said Silva. “I had space on my left foot. I cut in and shot. It was a good goal I'm happy with that.

"It was a great game for us, especially the first half. We were focused. We're very happy to stay 16 points ahead of Manchester United. We want to win the league as fast as we can."

Sane scored City's third to complete the rout (Getty)

Sane’s improvement this season has seen him emerge as of the best players in the Premier League, with the Germany international still young enough to develop even more under the watchful eye of Pep Guardiola.

Having played under Guardiola during his time at Barcelona, Thierry Henry was able to offer an insight into what the Spaniard offers as a manager and why he is able to ring more out of certain players than other managers.

“What Pep does is challenge your brain,” Henry said. “I had the same feeling [as Sane]...[Pep] demands 100 per cent in training every single time, and when you don't do it he stops training and he goes inside.”

Sane echoed the former Arsenal captain’s comments, with the former Schalke forward putting his improvement this campaign down to Guardiola’s training methods.

"He always tries with every player to give our all – 100 per cent of what you have," Sane said. "You don't rest. In every training session and every game, you have to give the best. I have improved so much (under Pep). Every player in our squad can tell you that.

"He's a really good coach. He always tries to see where you can improve, with your mistakes. He tries to help you."