Gündogan: I have to adapt to my teammates and they have to adapt to me
Ilkay Gündogan did not have the dream debut for FC Barcelona. The Catalan side lost 5-3 to Arsenal and he showed that he still needs some time to acclimatise to the team.
Not to the Barça style, which he knows perfectly well after many years under Pep Guardiola, but to the way Xavi Hernández’s players apply it.
“I have to adapt to my teammates and them to me,” said the German in the mixed zone after the match in Los Angeles.
“I know the position I’ve played in, but it’s all new. I have to adapt to my teammates and they have to adapt to me. We have to get to know the automatisms,” he said with astonishing calmness.
“We have a very clear idea of the football we want to play. I think the most important thing now is to be patient. The structure is not 100 percent fixed. Everyone knows where we want to go.”
Gündogan explained that his first game in a Barça shirt after arriving as a free agent from Manchester City was “very special.”
“I’m very happy,” he added. “Obviously we could have played better, but I think we competed against a great opponent. We can do better, we made some unforced errors, but it was the first friendly of the pre-season.”
