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Basel and reported Arsenal target Mohamed Elyounoussi has revealed that Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola praised his performance following the final whistle in Tuesday's surprise 2-1 Champions League victory over the Premier League leaders. 

The Citizens eased into the quarter-finals of the Champions League, but lost the second leg at the Etihad after Basel came from a goal down to win 2-1 thanks to goal each from Mohamed Elyounoussi and Michael Lang.

The 23-year-old, who has scored seven goals and provided 13 assists in the 30 appearances he's made for the Swiss side, has recently emerged as one of the most promising attacking midfielders in Europe, an emergence which has caught the attention of a number of Premier League clubs including Arsenal, Leicester and Southampton. 

Elyounoussi's agent Ferhat Cific recently confirmed that there is widespread interest in his client - but refused to name specific clubs. 

"I don't want to speak specifically about certain clubs, but there are lots of teams interested in Mohamed," Cifici told ESPN FC.

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"He was man-of-the-match against Manchester City and I know some clubs went to watch him in that game. His performances for Basel have made a lot of teams sit up and take notice of him and what he can do at the highest level.

"The boy is ready to make the next step in his career and I have a lot of meetings planned with clubs so we will see what happens."

The player himself also revealed how City boss Guardiola congratulated him on his individual performance following Basel's victory. 

"Pep Guardiola came to me after the match and said I did a good job. That means a lot to me," he said, as quoted by Blick.