Jamie Carragher sends blunt Rodri transfer message after Arsenal thrash Man City

Jamie Carragher has urged Manchester City to keep Rodri after Arsenal exposed Enzo Maresca's side during the Community Shield, with Barcelona pushing to sign the midfielder.

Barcelona have stepped up their pursuit of the Spain international and recently submitted a second offer worth more than £51million.

Manchester City are demanding at least £70m and have publicly maintained that they want Rodri to remain at the Etihad and sign a new contract.

However, the midfielder wants to leave and has entered the final year of his City deal.

Rodri was not included in City's squad for the Community Shield against Arsenal at the Principality Stadium.

His absence became particularly noticeable as Arsenal took control of the game.

Riccardo Calafiori opened the scoring after only 24 seconds, before Kai Havertz doubled Arsenal's advantage before the half-hour mark.

Maresca introduced Jack Grealish at half-time in an attempt to change the game, but Arsenal struck again shortly after the restart through Martin Odegaard.

Watching City fall 3-0 behind, Carragher delivered a straightforward message on social media.

“Arsenal 3-0. Man City have to keep Rodri.”

The former Liverpool defender's reaction highlighted the importance Rodri could still have in Maresca's midfield despite the player's desire to move on.

Barcelona's latest proposal remains well below City's reported valuation.

The Catalan club have offered more than £51m, while City are looking for at least £70m before considering a sale.

Ordinarily, City's position would be strengthened considerably by Rodri's importance to the team.

His contract situation complicates matters.

With only one year remaining on his deal, City risk seeing his value decrease significantly if they refuse to sell and cannot convince him to extend.

At the same time, the Community Shield performance demonstrated why allowing such an influential midfielder to leave could create another major problem for Maresca ahead of the new season.

Manchester City now face a difficult decision over Rodri during the final weeks of the transfer window.

Barcelona must significantly improve their offer to approach City's valuation, while the Premier League side must weigh the financial risk of keeping a player entering the final year of his contract against the sporting consequences of losing such an important midfielder.

Carragher's message was simple: after watching Arsenal expose City without him, selling Rodri could be a risk Maresca's side cannot afford to take.