Kyle Walker makes feelings clear as Man City eye more history vs Man Utd in FA Cup final

Manchester City captain Kyle Walker is brimming with ambition and says his team are eager to carve themselves into even more English football history by achieving the ‘double double’ this weekend.

No club has ever clinched both the league and FA Cup titles in consecutive seasons, but City, fresh from securing an unprecedented four straight Premier League crowns, are now setting their sights on yet another groundbreaking feat.

Skipper Walker is acutely aware that arch-rivals Manchester United are itching to thwart City’s plans at Wembley, a challenge he believes will only stoke the competitive flames for Pep Guardiola’s squad.

“The motivation speaks for itself,” Walker said. “To be the first team to do the double double, the first team to win four in a row, the first team since Manchester United to do the treble – we keep knocking down these hurdles and this is another we need to knock down.

“But it’s against our rivals who live in the same city and who are going to want to rain on our parade. We need to make sure that we play the game we have been playing, particularly to the back end of this season.

“To go on the run that we went on when Arsenal were as they were is a great credit to us and shows the enthusiasm and the work ethic is still there. We’re still coming into training now and wanting to graft and work hard now to put the icing on the cake for the season.

“Last season they could have rained on our parade before we went to the Champions League final. If we’d lost that game, the mood and morale to pick ourselves up again and go to the Champions League final would have been completely different.

“It’s a trophy against your arch rivals, it’s a derby and it’s going to be big because it’s Manchester United and we could be the first team to do the double double.”

Under Guardiola, City have won 15 trophies in an era of unprecedented success for the blue half of Manchester. Walker has played a role in every part of their silverware haul and said City’s players are determined to maintain their era of dominance for as long as they can.

“I don’t think any of us will understand what we are achieving until we’ve finished football or it goes back to the norm, which I hope isn’t very soon,” the England defender added.

“We have to appreciate times like this, individually and collectively. We’re part of history and we want this to continue.

“Pep is now the manager who has won the most, except for Sir Alex Ferguson, so we’re building this dynasty and legacy that people will look back on for generations to come.

“When I first came here, you saw a lot of United shirts and now you see a lot of kids wearing City shirts. We’re swinging the pendulum but we need to keep going because the United and Liverpool teams did it for years and years. We’re doing that now and long may it continue.”

It says everything about the relentless winning mentality at City that after winning four titles in a row, Walker is already eyeing a fifth next term, to maintain their domestic dominance.

“We’ll go away after the FA Cup,” declared Walker. “A lot of us are going to represent our countries at the Euros or the Copa America and we’ll do that with pride.”

“But I can assure you when we come back here for pre-season, it might take us a few days to get the cobwebs off, but as soon as that first Premier League game comes, we’re straight back into motion, trying to defend our crown. Why can’t we do five in a row?”