There is a certain inevitability about Manchester City's advance toward success under Pep Guardiola.
After a relatively timid - albeit nonetheless convincing - opening month, City clocked up 25 goals in 7 games across September, conceding 1 ... in the League Cup.
A period that will receive plenty of scholarly attention from football journalists and players involved in years to come, we can only hope for glimmers of Guardiola's methods for now.
Speaking to Fox Sports Radio in his native Argentina, Nicolas Otamendi has provided some insight into Guardiola's ongoing quest for success with the Manchester club.
Having signed for City under Manuel Pellegrini in the summer of 2015, Otamendi has been candid in discussing in the changes that Guardiola has instigated:
Pep is very demanding about our food.
After games, it is obligatory to eat at the club. Diet and rest is very important as we have a very intense calendar.
Martí Perarnau's Pep Confidential affirmed the value Guardiola placed in the Bayern Munich tradition of eating together - with the players' families - after each home fixture.
Another feature of Guardiola's attempts at ensuring a communal atmosphere is his attitude toward language.
Having played in Argentina, Portugal, Brazil and Spain before his arrival in Manchester, Otamendi is one of many City players equally adept at speaking Spanish or Portuguese.
Of the 18 players in the Manchester City squad for last night's Champions League fixture against Napoli, 9 were fluent Spanish/Portuguese speakers, compared to just 3 native English speakers.
However, no doubt trying to harvest a sense of place withing their surrounding community, Otamendi has offered a glimpse of Guardiola's demands:
[He is concerned] with the matter of us studying English. That is because it is the language used in team meetings.
I will have an English examination in December!
Indicative of Guardiola's scrupulous attention to detail, should City maintain - or improve further still - their impressive start to the season, few players will believe such effort was in vein.
