‘Mikel Arteta Does Not Like Fighting Guardiola For Titles’

The manager of Arsenal football club, Mikel Arteta is not excited that he has to battle with his former boss, Pep Guardiola, for major titles in England.

Naija News recalls that after Mikel Arteta retired from professional football while at Arsenal, Guardiola, a fellow Spanish tactician, invited him to join his coaching crew at Manchester City.

Arteta served as Guardiola’s assistant coach from 2016 to 2019 before Arsenal decided to appoint the 40-year-old tactician as the manager of the north London club.

Initially, Arteta struggled to make any meaningful impact at the Emirates Stadium which prompted most fans of the club to call for his exit. Fortunately, the club’s board had faith in him and allowed him to remain at the club.

Amid his initial struggle at Arsenal, he managed to win the 2019-2020 FA Cup title and the 2020 FA Community Shield.

So far in the 2022-2023 season, Arsenal has enjoyed the best run in the Premier League since Arsene Wenger left the club in 2018.

The Gunners are currently topping the league table with 50 points in 19 games with a game in hand. They are five points above Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.

Amid the battle for the Premier League between Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta, the two Spanish coaches will have to battle for the FA Cup title starting tomorrow, January 27.

Arteta will lead his team to the Etihad Stadium at 21:00 on Friday to take on Guardiola’s teams in the 4th round of the FA Cup campaign.

Ahead of the FA Cup game against his former boss, Mikel Arteta said: “It’s a strange feeling.”

He added, “I want the best for him, genuinely, and when you are challenging with someone like this, something comes in between that.

“I always hoped that was going to be the case one day 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.”