Mikel Arteta INSISTS there is no problem between him and Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola following latter’s ‘go to war’ claim
Mikel Arteta clarified his stance toward Pep Guardiola after the latter's 'go to war' remark stirred speculations of bad blood between two.
Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola, image courtesy: X
Two of the best tactical minds in Premier Leagu, are currently undergoing through a very intriguing phase in terms of their rivalry. Pep Guardiola, the preceptor of Manchester City and Mikel Arteta, the boss of Arsenal have very different opinions about each other ever since the two juggernauts collided at the Etihad Stadium, last Sunday.
After the teams shared the spoils, thanks to a 2-2 draw, things got heated between both sides. Erling Haaland got involved as he told Mikel Arteta to stay humble. Gabriel retorted strongly as well to Haaland’s remark to his boss. However, amidst it all, a new spectrum opened up when Guardiola dished out the war remark. In response to that, Arteta, however, said that he has utter respect for the City boss and if someone wants to throw a spanner in their relationship, that is not his concern.
I haven’t seen a human being work as hard as Pep! If someone wants to damage our relationship, that’s not in my hands.
Mikel Arteta said in the post-match conference after Arsenal’s dramatic win over Leicester City
The entire situation was surrounding the marching orders issued to Leandro Trossard in the City versus Arsenal game. Following the game, Arsenal’s Gabriel called it a war, that they would do in anything in control to provoke their opponents. Guardiola took note of the statement and made it very clear that if someone wanted to instigate a war, he would not step back.
Here’s how Manchester City and Arsenal played over the last Premier League weekend
Manchester City and Arsenal had contrasting results over the latest Premier League weekend. City dropped a couple of crucial points, playing out a 1-1 draw against Newcastle United. Without Rodri who was ruled out of the season following an ACL injury, City’s midfield looked extremely ordinary. Josko Gvardiol opened the scoring for the Cityzens but Anthony Gordon made no mistake in flipping home the spot kick in the 58th minute.
Arsenal, on the contrary, logged full points but that came on the back of pulsating drama at the Emirates Stadium. Gabriel Martinelli drew first blood for the Gunners against Leicester City in the 20th minute, while Leandro Trossard doubled their lead, just at the edge of the half-time.
In a stunning turnaround of affairs, James Justin netted a brace to equalize for the Foxes. Despite all the huff and puff, an own goal from Wilfred Ndidi in the 94th minute got Arsenal back in the lead while Kai Havertz blasted another in the last minute of the game to clinch a 4-2 win in favour of Arsenal.
Rohit Ganguly
(430 Articles Published)