Pep Guardiola admits that he was always aware Mikel Arteta had a soft spot for Arsenal – due to the Spaniard’s reluctance to celebrate against the Gunners during his stint with Manchester City.
Arteta worked under Guardiola at City for over three years before he was lured to the Emirates to take charge of his former team in December 2019. Since then, Arteta has gone from strength to strength and currently has the Gunners five points ahead of City at the summit of the Premier League.
As well as vying for the title, Arsenal and Manchester City are set to lock horns in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Friday night. And ahead of their first meeting in over a year, Guardiola has detailed how he was always aware that his former protege harboured designs of returning to “his club” one day.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Thursday, the Spaniard said: “I know he [Arteta] went to his club; the team he dreams of. I think he’s a supporter for Arsenal for the fact he played as a captain there and he loves the club.
“I remember that when we were together, when we were scoring a lot of goals, always he jumps and celebrates, except one team. One team every time we score a goal I jump, come back he was sitting there. It was Arsenal. So, in that moment I said ‘that guy likes Arsenal’.”
Arteta had been tipped as a potential successor to Guardiola at Manchester City before his move to Arsenal – but Guardiola understood his compatriot’s decision.
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Guardiola added: “If I’m training here or wherever as assistant coach and Barcelona call me: I would go to Barcelona. It’s my club. I’m not the person to say ‘no, no, you stay here with me, you have a contract, you have to stay with us’ because I knew it. People have to fly when they know it is the best [thing] for them.”
Arteta has also spoken of his close relationship with Guardiola ahead of Friday night’s FA Cup showdown. And while the Gunners chief admits that he is delighted to be challenging for trophies, he would “prefer” to battle someone else for the domestic crown.
Arteta said on Thursday: “I always hoped that was going to be the case one day [challenging for trophies] and it’s happening this season. That’s not going to change any friendship, the moments that we have, how important he is in my life, how important he is in my profession.
“We’re both willing to win and defend our clubs in any way and that’s always been the case since day one. I would prefer to do it with someone else to be fair.”
