Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has praised the versatility of Fernandinho, claiming that having three of the Brazilians would guarantee a championship,
Fernandinho is primarily a defensive midfielder but has been used in a number of varied roles for Manchester City this season, and Guardiola said the 31-year-old has been key to the club's early success.
Asked why he has utilised Fernandinho in so many different ways, Guardiola told English newspapers: "That is because Fernandinho can do everything.
"What we have achieved so far would have been impossible without him. He is fast, he is intelligent, strong in the air and he can play in several positions.
"No sooner does he see a space than he runs there immediately. If you need someone to make a correction or a challenge, he sees it too.
"If a team had three Fernandinhos, they would be champions. We only have one and he is very important to us."
Manchester City are perfect through their first six Premier League games under Guardiola, but put that record on the line against Tottenham on Sunday.
With the exception of a 2-1 win at Manchester United, City have had a somewhat light slate far, but Guardiola said he approaches all the games the same way.
"The big teams are more difficult to play against because they have better players," he said. "That's how football works. I've told the players all along that it doesn't matter if we play Tottenham or a Conference team, the points are the same. Every game brings its own complications, whatever the level of your opponents."
With tenures at Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the past, Guardiola is used to having his team out in front of the back, but he warned against any complacency so early in the season.
"We are in a good way but it is not enough," he said. "We need to carry on improving because the whole idea is to be a better team three years down the line than we are now.
"That is what happened at Bayern Munich and in my time at Barcelona before that. I'm not just talking about better results but an improvement you can notice in the way we play, the amount of control we have in matches.
"I am pleased with the start we have made but it is only a start. The results so far have been the result of the enthusiasm of the players. There are still areas to improve in terms of tactics and training and the players we might want to bring in for the future."
And despite City's spotless record, Guardiola also confirmed that there is a greater chance of losing each game in the Premier League than in Spain or Germany.
"It is so difficult. I have seen my players so exhausted in the dressing room after matches they could not speak," the manager said. "Before I came here I was told the Premier League was the toughest in the world, everyone can beat anyone. Now I accept it. It is not easy. I want to give credit to my players for the way they have worked."