Guardiola x Arteta: master and student meet again in a duel for the top of the Premier League | english football

If Pep Guardiola made the football pitch a great classroom, without a doubt Mikel Arteta was his best student. Former member of Manchester City’s coaching staff, the Arsenal coach has positioned himself as Guardiola’s greatest opponent in English football. This Sunday, the former teammates will face each other again, in a duel worth first place in the Premier League.

Last season, when the story was heading towards the realization of a true film script, where the disciple surpassed the master, it was interrupted by Guardiola. With Manchester City’s historic recovery in the Premier League, the coach prevented a happy ending and the breaking of Arsenal’s national title drought, which has been hanging for almost 20 years.

This weekend’s valid clash will be a new opportunity for Arteta to overcome his former mentor and earn Arsenal a place in the fight for the English title. The Gunners lead the championship with 64 points, just one more than the Citizens, who occupy third place with 63.

In the general retrospective among Spanish coaches, Guardiola easily beats his former pupil, there are nine wins compared to just two for Arteta, as well as a draw, in 12 games played.

The coaches were on the same side when the former Barcelona coach chose his now rival as his assistant coach at Manchester City shortly after his retirement from the field in 2016. Arteta spent three and a half years symbolically occupying the role of second in command before leave the Citizens and take over as Arsenal coach in December 2019. According to Guardiola, he could have succeeded his job at the club.

– I’m sure that if I had left sooner, he would be here and he would be the best, for sure. But I extended the contract, I’m sorry, and he didn’t wait, so that couldn’t happen, but definitely (he could have been City’s coach) – said Guardiola, in January 2023.

At another time, also last year, Pep highlighted that Arsenal’s success and evolution in recent seasons depends on Mikel and praised his former teammate’s work.

“I think the evolution of the club (Arsenal) since he took over is obvious, it’s reality. I don’t need to change what I think. I have the feeling that Mikel changed the structure of the club. He changed a lot of players. He was supported by the hierarchy of the club and that’s why the success is there”, he said.

Arteta, in turn, has already admitted that Pep had a great influence on his career as a coach and highlighted the respect he has for his mentor. Before a match between the teams for the FA Cup in the 2022/23 season, the Arsenal coach directed a lot of praise to Guardiola.

“I genuinely want the best for him, and when you’re challenging someone like that, something gets in the way. This (duel between them) isn’t going to change any friendship, the moments we have, how important he is in my life, how he is important in my profession. We are both willing to win and defend our clubs in any way possible and it has always been like that since day one”, said Arteta.

At the Etihad Stadium, in Manchester, City welcomes Arsenal, in a match valid for the 29th round of the Premier League. The ball rolls this Sunday (31), at 12:30 pm (Brasília time).

*Under the supervision of Marcos Felipe