Manchester City star Bernardo Silva dismissed the idea that injuries and suspensions are the cause of their poor form.
City were without two of their key midfielders against Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday.
With Kevin De Bruyne injured and Rodri suspended, City had to rejig their team, which included Silva in a holding midfield role.
I'm not going to lie and say that they aren't important players, of course they are," said Bernardo to reporters about absent players.
"Over the last few years Kevin and Rodri have been two of the most important players on the team. It's also true that over the last seven years, this team has always been able to react to injuries to important players.
"So, we have to improve, those of us who are playing, and it doesn't matter if that's Kevin, Rodri, Ruben [Dias], whoever, we have to be ready to play the best game possible and win matches. So, we have to look at where we can improve and do so."