Mikel Arteta has said that Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has been a big inspiration to him.
The two managers and former colleagues are set to see their sides face off against each other for the first time in the Premier League this season as City travel to north London to take on Arsenal at the Emirates.
In the build-up to this big clash, the Gunners boss has shared his thoughts on his upcoming opponent and the impact he’s had on his career.
Arteta highlights Guardiola impact
Speaking in a recent video on the Sky Sports Premier League YouTube channel, Arteta had this to say about Guardiola.
He said: “He’s been very inspirational in my career. First of all, as a player, because I was in Barcelona and he was the captain.
“Then as a coach when I had a deeper relationship, friendship working or outside the field. He’s someone that has really transformed me and someone that has really helped me to think about football and life in a different way as well.”
Having spent over three years as Guardiola’s assistant manager at City, Arteta certainly has enough experience working with the 52-year-old to be able to have had such an impact from him in terms of his own managerial career.
With 10 games managed against Guardiola, the Arsenal boss has only been able to win two of them, picking up eight defeats in the process.
However, with the Manchester club having to overtake the Gunners towards the end of the previous Premier League campaign, this highlights the progress that Arsenal have made under Arteta’s management.
Looking ahead to tomorrow’s big game in north London, while both managers will undoubtedly want to see their sides win, the fact that the Citizens lost their previous league game against Wolves last weekend suggests to us that they will be doing all they can to get back to winning ways and walk away with three points in the bag.
