Raheem Sterling believes competition for places is behind Manchester City's fine start to the season under Pep Guardiola.
City have won every game they have played since the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach took charge, with a number of recruits boosting their squad, including Leroy Sane.
The young German appeared to be a direct threat to Sterling's place in Guardiola's side, but the England winger has been in inspired form, earning the Premier League's Player of the Month award for August and keeping Sane out of the team.
Ahead of City's Champions League clash at home to Borussia Monchengladbach on Tuesday, Sterling attributed his improvement to the former Schalke star's arrival.
"It raises any player's game when there's four or five players who can play your position," he told a news conference. "You always want to be on the pitch, not in the stands.
"Leroy's come in and he's a really good guy who I speak to a lot, but obviously he plays the same position.
"Hopefully we can both be on the pitch at the same time, but we have to work hard and show why we deserve to be involved."
And Sterling added that, given the quality within the City squad, they are capable of challenging on all fronts.
"I think with the players and manager we have and we're getting better and stronger each week," he said. "We should be challenging for every competition we go in for."
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