Mikel Arteta, The Boss Of Arsenal, Says He Still “Loves” Pep Guardiola Despite Argument

Despite their tense matchup at the top of the table last weekend, Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal, stated that he still “loves” Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City. The champions survived with a 2-2 draw against 10-man Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium, thanks to a goal from John Stones deep into stoppage time. Just before the half, Arteta’s team—who had finished second to City in the Premier League the previous two seasons—saw Leandro Trossard sent off. 

In the second half, the Gunners tried their hardest to purposefully cause their opponents problems by wasting time and committing cynical fouls. Despite having the majority of the possession, City was unable to break down Arsenal, which prompted Stones and teammate Bernardo Silva to charge the north Londoners with using the “dark arts” of football.

Arteta worked as Guardiola’s assistant at City

Before taking over as manager of Arsenal, Arteta assisted Guardiola at City, and he stated that the dispute would not affect his friendship with the fellow Spaniard.

He said “I love him, I respect him and I admire him, his team and everything that he does, This is a sport — one thing is our profession and the other is our personal relationship. If my relationship has to be damaged because we play against each other and one draws or the one wins, or the amount of times that we have lost then I wouldn’t talk to him any more.”

“it’s part of our job,”

Reporters questioned Arteta about if it was more difficult to keep friendships strong during intense games between championship contenders. 

He said “It’s quite simple — don’t take it personally, it’s part of our job, The things that you really care about, make sure you handle them in the right way. “That relationship, I really care about. It’s the same with a lot of people in their staff and players that I spent some very important years of my life with.”

After five games, City leads the standings by two points, with Arsenal, who is still undefeated, sitting in fourth place.

Next week, Arteta’s club will play Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. He expressed doubts about goalkeeper David Raya’s availability to play against Leicester following an injury he sustained against City.

He said “We have to wait 24 hours to see if he’s looking good or not that good”,

Follow Wat-Not on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram