Mikel Arteta has moved to defuse the escalating tensions between himself and Pep Guardiola, maintaining he has nothing but love and respect for his Manchester City counterpart.
The Arsenal manager was asked by Guardiola to clarify his comments from Tuesday as the fallout raged from last Sunday’s 2-2 draw between their clubs at the Etihad Stadium.
Arteta had responded to a question about the criticism from several City players over his negative approach in the game by saying that, as a former City coach, he had “all the information so I know, believe me”. The cryptic remark led to plenty of theories and enraged Guardiola.
After Arsenal’s 4-2 home win over Leicester, Arteta said : “I can repeat it very clear. I love Pep, I’ve admired him since I was 10 years old. I respect him profoundly. I am so grateful for everything he did for me and continues to do for me and I consider him a friend. I love and respect all of the staff there [at City] because I worked with them for four years and when I said that I know them, I meant I know how hard they work.
“I haven’t seen a human being work as hard as Pep and the coaches and [for] everybody in that football club to be consistently winning … the reason they are there is because they continue to maintain that hunger. This is exactly what I’ve learned and what I mean, so it cannot be any more clear than that.
“If someone wants to damage the relationship that’s not in my hands, but that feeling is profound. He knows it and the staff [at City] know it because I still maintain with them today … with the board, with the ownership, with everyone. It’s almost to create something …
after newsletter promotion
“For me, sport has to be about a will to win. They have it and I have it. We have it for sure because we haven’t won it, but they have it even if they have won it more than anybody else here. We have to learn and it has to be inspiring for us and it is for me. This is what I mean [when I said] that I’ve been there [at City]. It’s remarkable what they have achieved because they have that winning mentality. Hopefully that is clear.”