Why Guardiola must pick Gundogan over Silva for League Cup final

Ilkay Gundogan was despondent when he began rehabilitation after a knee injury. Representing Germany at Euro 2016 was out of the question and a transfer to join a team like Liverpool, at that point managed by his former Borussia Dortmund handler Jurgen Klopp for little over half a year, seemed to be ebbing away.

Gundogan was locked in a stasis until one of the greatest compliments was paid to him by Pep Guardiola - the Spanish tactician decided to overlook the midfielder's injury and sign him anyway, making him his first addition at Manchester City.

"That showed me it could never be the wrong decision to join this club," Gundogan said in January.

Gundogan is repaying Guardiola's faith, and that's after facing another nine months away from professional football while he built up strength in his right knee after an ACL injury. He doesn't play like a man who's suffered two serious traumas to the same joint, as he fearlessly and fiercely charges through desperate lunges or shakes off opponents with twists of which David Silva - the man ahead of whom Gundogan should be selected for Sunday's League Cup final against Arsenal - would be proud.

His performance against FC Basel on Feb. 13, when he scored twice in a 4-0 rout, was one of his best for the club. He provided individual, highlight-reel moments - especially when he curled City's fourth into the top corner - but it is Gundogan's traits honed in Gelsenkirchen, the blue-collared industrial town where he grew up, that would most please Guardiola.

He's a team player, blending his attacking talents with selfless tracking back that saw him muster a game-high six tackles in Switzerland. The way he deliberately draws opponents before releasing the ball to a teammate is immaculate. Guardiola's squad embarks on obsessive searches for space in each match; that's except for Gundogan, who hacks out clearings for his stampeding colleagues.

Following Monday's embarrassing 1-0 FA Cup elimination at the hands of League One's Wigan Athletic, Guardiola needs to heed the warnings from that tie to avoid the ignominy of a second cup defeat within a week. Silva looked off the pace - understandably so, given his sporadic outings while he deals with personal issues - and simply cannot be expected to grapple with Arsenal's midfield.

Aaron Ramsey may be absent for Arsene Wenger's lot in what would be a loss for Arsenal's upfield forays but, conversely, present bad news for Silva. City's diminutive midfielder played just 23 minutes of last season's FA Cup semi-final as he was the victim of some agricultural challenges from Arsenal players. Seeing that this un-Arsenal approach worked in that April meeting - the Gunners fought and admittedly rode their luck to win 2-1 - it wouldn't be a surprise if Wenger rehashed this tactic. Silva's wanting fitness would more likely be exposed by Mohamed Elneny's physicality rather than Ramsey, who is often too busy drifting into his natural No. 10 position to concern himself with defensive drudgery.

It's not that Silva needs to be protected. His years in England have uncovered a grittiness in the game of arguably the greatest player in City's history. However, if the weekend's showpiece does descend into a stop-start encounter of niggling challenges and tactical yellow cards, it will be Gundogan who bursts through the gaps and crops up in all areas of the pitch.

At the age of 27, and after a serious back injury and two severe knee setbacks, Gundogan is playing with the relish of an academy graduate, albeit with studied tactical training from Guardiola.

"He's been a top player himself, can think in our shoes, can handle different player types, has a clear philosophy on the pitch, and is always capable of turning the right screws," Gundogan shared of his manager earlier this month.

"He wants attractive football to be played. Already when I was at Dortmund and he coached Bayern (Munich), I admired that. Wherever he worked, the overall atmosphere was good. And he improves young players."

Guardiola is a players' manager, and as somebody who entertained the idea of transfers to Wenger's Arsenal, Stuart Pearce's Manchester City, and Paul Jewell's Wigan to extend his own professional career as a midfielder, he'll likely be enraptured by how Gundogan has grasped his chance after three injuries which could have ended careers in previous generations.

Now, it's up to Guardiola to snatch his opportunity: to field one of the most complete, battle-hardened charges currently at his disposal and record a win at Wembley that could trigger a deluge of silverware in east Manchester.