Football: Arteta relishing league and Cup battles with mentor Guardiola

LONDON – Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is confident that fierce battles with Pep Guardiola will not change their friendship as both men battle for the English Premier League title and the FA Cup.

Arteta was Guardiola’s assistant for three-and-a-half years at Manchester City before taking charge of the Gunners in 2019.

Since then, he has transformed Arsenal, who have not won a league title for 19 years but now lead defending champions City by five points and have a game in hand on Guardiola’s men.

The two sides clash in the first of three meetings in the coming months in the FA Cup fourth round on Friday at the Etihad.

Asked about how he felt about going head-to-head with his fellow Spaniard in the league and FA Cup, Arteta said: “I always hoped this would be the case one day and it is happening this season.

“But 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, defend our clubs in any way. That’s always been the case since day one.

“I would prefer to do it with someone else, to be fair. I want the best for him, genuinely, and when you are challenging with someone like this, something comes in between that.”

Arteta, who guided Arsenal to their FA Cup win in 2019-20 but failed to break into the EPL’s top four in any of his first three seasons, added that a victory on Friday would give his team momentum and boost their confidence.

“In some ways, it will define our season,” he added. “It is a very important competition for us and winning will define this moment, as it will give us a chance to try to go on and win this trophy.

“This is a big test against, in my opinion, the best team in the world. It’ll tell us a lot about where we are.”

City’s superior strength in depth could yet prove decisive in the title race and Arteta is keen to bolster his midfield options with Mohamed Elneny out injured.

Gabriel Jesus, Reiss Nelson and Cedric Soares are the other absentees for Arsenal.

The Gunners have already signed Belgium forward Leandro Trossard from Brighton and Jakub Kiwior, a highly rated young Polish defender, in the January window.

West Ham’s Declan Rice is reportedly the Premier League leaders’ top midfield target but they will likely have to wait until the summer transfer window to sign the England international.

For now, though, the FA Cup is the focus for both sides. City have made it to at least the semi-finals in the past four seasons, with their last title coming in 2018-19.

Guardiola’s men are on a nine-game home winning run in this competition and have scored at least three goals each time.

But the City boss, who has won four Premier League titles among nine major trophies at the Etihad, is wary of the threat that Arsenal can pose, especially this season.

“It’s a different competition, it’s a final,” he said. “We have to prove ourselves to see how is our level against Arsenal... We have to prove how far away or how close we are.

“The best way is to perform at our best level, otherwise it will be difficult.”

On his relationship with Arteta, he added: “I knew it when he was here, his ability. The biggest compliment for Arsenal is, for in the bad moments, they trust him and keep him.

“All the decisions internally, I guess, was not easy. To do this, they had to support him, that’s why you need time, investment. The results are there.

“It’s a challenge for us to challenge them. This is the deal for this season. A team with 50 points in one leg (half of the season) is the best. We have to prove how far away or how close we are,”

City’s only major injury concern is forward Phil Foden, who is suffering from a foot problem.
AFP, REUTERS