Guardiola

In Friday’s FA Cup fourth-round match between Manchester City and Arsenal, Pep Guardiola believes he and Mikel Arteta may “fight on the touchline,” but it would not change his deep admiration for his former assistant. 

Before taking over as manager of Arsenal at the beginning of December 2019, Arteta spent three years working for Guardiola at City. This season, he has come under fire for being overly animated on the sidelines. Guardiola has a history of being like this, therefore the question was raised as to whether he could control it in order to prevent a potential confrontation.

Statement by Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola stated, “I don’t know. Anything can happen on the touchline in the moments of the game.”

“He’s a rival, of course. Tomorrow he wants to beat me and I want to beat him. I know in defeat we are not the best friends in the world. From my point of view I have a huge respect as a person, as a manager. That’s not going to change.” 

“If we’re going to fight on the touchline – it’s going to happen sooner or later I guess – it won’t change the respect. I teach him a few things but this comes from himself, his mum and dad, his character and that was already there. Mikel, I know him and I had the feeling during the time we worked together that what he is doing is not fake.

“So when we were making a training session and in a game, he was always complaining about referees, and that was as an assistant coach. It is what it is. After that I am not a judge; everyone is everyone and sometimes I behave as well in this way.”

Arsenal vs Manchester City 

Now, with the match heavily weighing on the shoulders of fans as these two power houses are bound to beat the other up. Currently, Manchester City is placed second in the Premier League, which could be a make or break for Arsenal’s strong positioning in the charts. 

Regardless of their teams competing with each other, it is heartwarming to see a former mentor being on good terms with his junior, especially in this context. Guardiola even defended Arteta saying that he is unfairly scrutinised due to his team’s positioning. Other managers who have made similar mistakes are often overlooked. 

Fan opinions about Arteta and Guardiola’s friendship 

Guardiola recently told the press that Arteta has always shown interest in Arsenal, even back when they were working together at Manchester City. He then added that Arteta would always jump and celebrate if their team scored against anyone else except for Arsenal. 

 

Apparently, with regards to Guardiola’s statement, fans observed during the time when City obliterated Arsenal with a 5-0 score and Arteta looked sad. Not long after, he then became the manager for the club itself. Fans appreciate the passion he has for Arsenal as it is not common to find an actual manager who is a fan of the club as it is. 

Regarding their friendship, fans are claiming that Guardiola is Arteta’s “PR manager.” This is due to him spreading good words for his former mentee. Others called their friendship “beautiful” as it is hard to fight against the passion and stress of running these football clubs. 

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