Pep Guardiola does not normally make a habit of supporting rival managers but he made an honourable exception for Mikel Arteta when his countryman was in danger of being sacked.
Arteta’s head was on the block after Arsenal’s 5-0 defeat at Manchester City two seasons ago left them bottom of the table without a point or a goal after three matches.
Sensing his friend and former colleague was in serious trouble, Guardiola used his post-match platform to launch a rare and impassioned defence of him by stating: ‘I know him perfectly and the quality he has.’
The rest, as they say, is history. Arteta survived and is now arguably the biggest threat to Guardiola winning an unprecedented fourth Premier League title in a row. Arsenal will overtake City in the table if they win Sunday’s clash of the titans at the Emirates.
For the build-up, Guardiola has opened up for the first time about why he fought for his fellow Spaniard. ‘I remember the game [August 2021]. We started off quite equal and then, after one or two goals and Granit Xhaka was sent off, it wasn’t easy for Mikel,’ he says.
Man City boss Pep Guardiola doesn’t normally make a habit of supporting rival managers
City thrashed Arsenal 5-0 in August 2021 and it was the Gunners third defeat in as many games
Arteta was in danger of being sacked but Guardiola leaped to his countryman’s defence
‘I am not usually here to defend colleagues, we respect each other but we’re not friends, but with Mikel it felt completely different.
‘We worked together here for three years with a lot of success. I was pretty convinced about him because I saw his ideas and how he communicated with players.’ Arteta has since proved Guardiola’s judgment right. From despair, Arsenal recovered to finish fifth in 2021-22 and last season were City’s closest challengers.
He replaced the old guard headed by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with a young and energetic team, fortified last summer by signings like £105million England midfielder Declan Rice, also a target for City.
‘It is proof that when a club really believes in something and shows patience to the manager, it works,’ says Guardiola. ‘Sometimes you need time. People at the top of the club always have to look at what is being built rather than relying on short-term results to make decisions.
‘They trusted him and now the results are here as a consequence. Now, Arsenal have a manager for many years. He knows the club, he loves the club. It is impossible to get better than that.
Guardiola’s judgement was right as Arsenal have come leaps and bounds in recent years
Arteta replaced the old guard with younger players such as former City target Declan Rice
‘And Mikel is a guy so demanding with the board, “Give me money to spend”. He has this talent too. He pushes everyone.’
Arteta was one of Guardiola’s first appointments at the Etihad in 2016. The apprentice watched and he learned, not only from the manager but his other high-class coaches like Rodolfo Borrell too. He spent time carefully studying training sessions put on at the academy as well as the first team before becoming more influential.
However, Guardiola refutes the notion that he somehow created a mini-me in Arteta.
‘I see zero characteristics in him from me. We have a different mother and father. I dress better, I am more elegant,’ says the City boss with a smile. ‘All the success Mikel has belongs to him and his people at Arsenal. It’s definitely down to them, not me.
‘People say he learned a lot from me, but I learned a lot from him as well. I bring in assistant coaches to teach me too.’
City face a test this afternoon. Their 100 per cent start to the season ended at Wolves last Saturday and they will again be without suspended midfield general Rodri, with Kevin De Bruyne also out with injury.
Guardiola refutes the notion that he created a mini-me in Arteta despite their time together
He is happy for the likes of Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden to step up in the absence of others
In the circumstances, Guardiola is happy others are stepping up to the plate and in fine form, notably Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden.
‘Bernardo is so important for us. He can play in many positions — last season he was left-back against Bukayo Saka — and is such a huge competitor, he gets incredibly angry and upset when we lose. If he and Kyle [Walker] had gone in the summer it would have been a big loss.
‘Phil has a free instinct as a footballer. He’s not a player who always makes good decisions when he has to think too much, more a bird who flies wherever he wants.
‘Sometimes there are duties and young players have steps they need to make. Rico Lewis has it immediately, but he doesn’t have the talent Phil has in other aspects. Football is not copy and paste, everyone is different. That is what makes my job so fascinating.’
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