Rayan Aït-Nouri was left out of Manchester City’s squad again on Wednesday, three days after missing the FA Cup final against Chelsea, as Pep Guardiola kept him out for the trip to Bournemouth. City have not said the defender has any physical problem, and the repeated omission comes as the champions remain locked in a tight Premier League fight with Arsenal.
Manchester City beat Chelsea 1-0 at Wembley Stadium on Saturday without Aït-Nouri, then left him out once more for a league match that came three days later. Guardiola chose not to use him against Bournemouth, despite the fact that City signed him last summer and tied him to a deal running until June 2030.
The absence sharpens attention on a first season that has been mixed for the 27-year-old. Aït-Nouri has played 27 matches in all competitions, starting 20 of them, and has delivered four assists. That is a solid return on paper, but it has not been enough to make him an automatic pick for City’s biggest matches, including Saturday’s final.
The club has not officially spelled out why he was omitted twice in quick succession, and the simplest reading is that Guardiola made a technical call rather than dealing with an injury issue. That leaves Aït-Nouri in an awkward spot: present for the season’s long grind, but absent when the stakes rose at Wembley and again on the road at Bournemouth.
City’s season now turns to Sunday, when they are due to face Aston Villa in their final match. With Arsenal still breathing down their necks at the top of the table, Guardiola’s selection choices over the next few days will draw close scrutiny, and Aït-Nouri’s role may be one of the clearer signs of how City see him heading into next season.
