Of all the players considered to be an endangered Manchester City species after the arrival of Pep Guardiola, Sergio Aguero was low on the list. He was generally considered to be the best striker in the Premier League, and had an arguable case for extending that boast across the whole of Europe. Aguero had scored 50 league goals in 63 matches over the last two seasons.

Guardiola’s arrival made it clear that no player would be untouchable, but few believed that Aguero would be pushed to the periphery of City’s first team in the Spaniard’s first six months in charge. Gabriel Jesus originally signed last summer, but his second coming to Manchester brought a significant setback to Aguero’s status as leading man.

Guardiola is a manager who sculpts players according to his own belief not of how football should be played, but how it can be played most successfully. He is neither afraid to ruffle the feathers of senior players nor prepared to kowtow to those who have been an integral part of the past; even the recent past. Gabriel, aged just 19 and therefore more malleable than the 28-year-old Aguero, instantly became Guardiola’s preferred striker.

“It is not to be controlled; he is going to have to do it himself,” said Guardiola on the eve of the Champions League last-16 first leg against Monaco. “Sergio has enough ­experience. He knows, ­everybody knows. I know what he is trying to do, without the ball and with it.”

When speaking those words, Guardiola held out his hands as if to mime controlling Aguero via computer game controller. The unspoken accusation was that the Argentinean’s style was set in stone, and the cast was not to his manager’s liking. It is a crude over-simplification of the two players’ talents, but the implication is that, while Aguero is a striker, Gabriel could be the all-round centre-forward Guardiola craves.

If that is the case, Aguero made his own case on Tuesday. Since the beginning of 2014/15, he has never made more than three tackles in any match for City, yet against Monaco he made four. Not only was that the second highest of any player in blue, but Aguero won possession more times than any of his teammates. Do not doubt the change in tack: 29% of his tackles for the season came in the space of 87 minutes.

Manchester City fans will remember Aguero’s wonderful guided finish to make the scoreline 3-3, but his manager might dwell on a different image. With ten minutes remaining, Aguero lost the ball on the half-way line, the frustration around the Etihad audible. Yet rather than curse his own mistake and ask those behind him to atone, Aguero raced back towards the edge of his own penalty area and wrestled back possession before starting a counter-attack.

Two minutes later, City had a 5-3 lead. This was a touch of the South American streetfighter, the resilience in spirit that often makes forwards from that continent so enthralling to watch. The finishing was never in doubt, Aguero scoring his 19th and 20th goals of the season in a pulsating, absorbing match, but the willingness to muck in and fight was a revelation.

If Aguero’s actions on Tuesday indicated a desire to impress, change even, his post-match words mirrored the effort: “What he [Guardiola] wants, above everything, from all the players is that we push a little more. He’s always asking me for more, more, more. Obviously it’s a sacrifice I have to make, that we all have to make, and fortunately tonight it worked and we’ll see if it keeps working in the next game.”

If Aguero wants to remain a fixture in City’s team after Gabriel’s return from injury, it has to work. Guardiola has not made unreasonable demands of his striker, merely requested that he fit into City’s new shape and philosophy. Change as the club changes around you, or risk getting left behind.

No player in Manchester City’s history has scored more important goals than Aguero, but Guardiola is obsessed with the club’s next steps, not the last. There is no secret to what Aguero must do next, and no doubt that he has the aptitude to achieve it. After Tuesday, we can be reassured that the attitude is there too.

Daniel Storey