Man City ace Ilkay Gundogan singled out ‘annoying’ Chelsea midfielder as toughest opponent

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 26: Ilkay Gundogan of Manchester City celebrates after scoring his team's third goal during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Aston Villa at Etihad Stadium on October 26, 2019 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Manchester City star midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has revealed that Chelsea ace N’Golo Kante is the toughest midfielder he has ever played against.

Gundogan has no shortage of experience playing against some of the best midfielders in the world including Paul Pogba, Christian Eriksen, Fabinho.

However, the Germany international singled out Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante as his most challenging opponent.

“N’Golo Kante is someone who’s really annoying for a midfielder,” Gundogan told SPORTbible.

“For a midfielder like me who’s into passing and controlling the game, it’s not easy to play against someone like him.

“You feel like you’re past him and then he just appears again. The Premier League has the best players in the world so every single game is tough and that’s why I’m here – I want to challenge myself and compete with the best and Kante is one of the best midfielders in the world.”

Gundogan has faced Kante six times and came out on the winning side on four occasions.

The 29-year-old joined Manchester City back in June 2016 from Borussia Dortmund and has gone onto win seven domestic competitions. Gundogan started for Pep Guardiola’s side in their FA Cup clash against Fulham earlier today.

Kante has struggled with injuries this season and was at fault during the week when Chelsea were held to a 2-2 draw against a 10-man Arsenal.

The Blues are back in action on Saturday when they take on top-four rivals Leicester City at the King Power stadium.