Arsenal and Manchester City recently played out a thrilling 2-2 draw in the Premier League last weekend, leading to Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta clashing in a war of words.
Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola have been involved in a war of words since the 2-2 draw between Arsenal and Manchester United, and their relations have soured due to the rivalry between the two clubs.
Arteta has insisted that he continues to have great admiration and affection towards his mentor, and he respects Guardiola profoundly. He also added that he has no intentions to damage his relationship with his mentor, and anything that happens from another side is beyond his control.
Arteta said via Daily Mirror, “OK, I can repeat it. I love Pep. I’ve admired him since I was 10 years old. I respect him profoundly. I’m so grateful for everything he does and see him as a friend.”
“I cannot be any more clear than that. If someone wants to damage that relationship, I cannot control it. For me sport is about that will to win. They have it even though, they’ve won more than everybody else. Hopefully that’s clear.”
Arteta recently escalated the war of words between the two managers by claiming that he knows all about Manchester City. In response, Guardiola suggested that his remarks might have been directed towards the financial breaches Manchester City have been accused of, leading many to advocate for a heavy sanction.
Mikel Arteta has now eased those tensions by claiming that he meant something else. The Spaniard added that he was only trying to assert that Manchester City or a hard-working team and that he is fully aware of their quality and dedication when it comes to grinding out top performance performances every week.
The Arsenal boss added, “When I say I know them it means I know how hard they work. The reason they are there is because they maintain that hunger.”
It will be interesting to see if the two managers can put the animosity behind them and maintain a cordial relationship in future. Arsenal are undoubtedly Manchester City’s main rivals in the title race this season and the Gunners will be desperate to go all the way.
They have fallen short in the last two seasons, but Arsenal have a quality squad and they have the experience of being in a title race now. The Gunners have shown that they have what it takes to grind out results in difficult games, and it will be interesting to see if they can win the title this season.
