Mikel Arteta still talks to Pep Guardiola all the time despite quitting Man City for dream Arsenal job
MIKEL ARTETA has remained in regular contact with Pep Guardiola despite walking out on Manchester City to take the Arsenal job. Fading champions City were unhappy with Arteta when he quit as assistant coach at the Etihad to replace Unai Emery just before Christmas. But Arteta insists his relationship with Guardiola remains as strong as […]
MIKEL ARTETA has remained in regular contact with Pep Guardiola despite walking out on Manchester City to take the Arsenal job.
Fading champions City were unhappy with Arteta when he quit as assistant coach at the Etihad to replace Unai Emery just before Christmas.
But Arteta insists his relationship with Guardiola remains as strong as ever in spite of their new managerial rivalry.
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“Absolutely I miss working with Pep,” Arteta admits. “I am a big friend of his and I admire him so much.
“We had a lot of joy and a lot of success working together and I always talk with him.
“We share a lot of things in our life and we discuss everything.
“He was a big part of my development as a person. A lot of the experiences I have gone through have been next to him.
“It was a privilege to work with him and of course I took a lot of things on board.
“I have known him since my time as a young player at Barcelona and I have learned a lot of things from his time in management.”
City have dropped eight points from eight games since Arteta handed in his notice in December and now trail runaway leaders Liverpool by a mammoth 22 points.
We had a lot of joy and a lot of success working together and I always talk with him.”
Mikel Arteta
“The gap between Liverpool and City is nothing to do with me,” Arteta says. “It’s just a reflection of what they are doing in the Premier League.”
The Spaniard is far more concerned by Arsenal’s stuttering form, winning only one League game in seven under his management.
Speaking from the club’s mid-season training camp in Dubai, Arteta admitted: “At the moment we are a long way from the top four and Champions League qualification.
“But there are still a lot of games and it is very tight in the top half of the table.
“Everyone is giving points away so it still depends on us. If we are able to put together three or four wins in a row, we will be much closer.
“We need to go step by step, I think we have to talk about the present and not so much about the future.
“It’s time to focus on what we have at the moment and how we can maximise our resources. We need to improve how we manage the games, how we control each section of the pitch.
“We want the players to have clarity when they jump onto the football pitch so they can recognise the scenarios they are facing and have the tools for the solutions.
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“What has been the biggest surprise since I arrived at Arsenal is how much the players are on board and buying into what we’re trying to do.
“In every training session they are showing me the right attitude and commitment. The effort and willingness shows me they are ready to move forward with the right energy.
“And for me that is the foundation of anything that we can build.”