Gianluigi Donnarumma is not interested in labels. Seated at Man City's training ground just days after the club's victory in the Manchester Derby, the Italian goalkeeper made one thing abundantly clear: this is not a year of rebuilding.

"I don't really like the word 'transition,'" Donnarumma told Sky Sports. "The club's objective is to win. This team's objective is to win. We'll certainly give everything we can to achieve that."

A faultless start under Enzo Maresca

Man City head into the international break with a 100 percent record in the Premier League — a feat few expected given the summer departures of Pep Guardiola, Bernardo Silva, John Stones, and Rodri. Yet rather than crumble, the squad has responded under new manager Enzo Maresca.

Donnarumma was full of praise for his side's resilience in the derby, where City held on despite having Phil Foden sent off — a decision he described as harsh. Erling Haaland's controversial winning goal sealed the three points, but it was the collective character that moved Donnarumma most.

"I loved my team-mates' performance, it was sublime," he said. "The capacity to stay in the game and to react to difficult moments — no one can take that away from us."

A new leadership group drives the standards

With the departure of several senior figures, a fresh leadership group has emerged at the club. Donnarumma sits alongside Ruben Dias, Haaland, and Marc Guehi — four players who share a track record of winning trophies at multiple clubs.

That experience is proving vital as new arrivals Ayyoub Bouaddi, Elliot Anderson, and Ilimian Ndiaye settle into life in Manchester. "It's not easy at the beginning when you move to a new club, a new organisation, a new city," Donnarumma acknowledged. "But they're adapting well, and we're making them feel comfortable."

He added: "I think we're going to have a great season. The objective is to get to the end and compete for everything there is to compete for — in addition to the Premier League, there's the Champions League and the two domestic cups."

Arsenal the rivals in the title race

Standing between City and Premier League glory is Arsenal, who have also opened the season with five consecutive wins. Mikel Arteta's side carry the momentum of pipping City to the title last May — a moment captured in a recent Pep Guardiola documentary that showed the devastation inside the City dressing room after a slip-up at Bournemouth handed the Gunners the trophy.

For Donnarumma, who had won the league in each of his first five seasons at the club before that setback, the pain was real. "It's difficult, but that's football, that's life," he said. "There are other strong teams, especially in the Premier League. It's not that if you don't win there isn't disappointment — of course there is — but it can happen because there are other teams as well."

Asked whether it will be another City-Arsenal title race come May, Donnarumma was characteristically measured. "I don't know. We're only four games into the season. Our focus right now has to be on working and trying to win every game. Whether we achieve it in the end or not, only time will tell."