With the two teams competing for the Premier League championship, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said that his relationship with Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola “had to change”.
On Sunday, both teams face off at the Etihad, with third-place City and leaders Arsenal separated by only one point.
For three and a half years at City, Arteta assisted Guardiola in his role as manager before accepting his first managing job at the Emirates in 2019. Arsenal has improved under Arteta and is once again a top contender for major awards, although they haven’t won the Premier League since 2004.
“It had to change,” Arteta stated during his pre-match press conference on how his relationship with Guardiola has developed. He added, “My admiration and what I feel for him certainly hasn’t. In my opinion he’s the best coach in the world by a mile and he’s one of the nicest people that I’ve met in football. Certainly he’s one of the ones that I’ve had the most fun and laughter working with. That’s going to stay there forever. At the moment the rules are what they are and you’re going to have to adapt to it.”
Under Guardiola, City hopes to make history again by being the first team to win four straight English Premier League titles, in contrast to Arsenal’s lack of success over the previous 20 years.
Arteta also said, “They have raised the bar in this league and football in general to levels that haven’t been seen before.”
He added, “That’s the beauty of this sport because it makes you better and challenges you more. You have to keep up with that pace and that’s what we’re trying to do. It’s a massive game for both teams. It will give us a huge boost again if we go there and win it.”
