Arsenal and Manchester City clash in the 4th round of the FA Cup on Friday evening.
The pair are currently battling it out for Premier League dominance, with Arsenal five points clear atop of the league with a game in hand.
However, the two powerhouses are actually yet to face off in the 2022/23 season due to rescheduling issues brought about by the Queen’s funeral.
Now, ahead of their first clash of the campaign, Mikel Arteta has been praising Pep:
“I think the influence that Pep had in football in the last 20 years is just incredibly powerful,” said Arteta.
“He changed the game like Johan did in the past, he did it like other managers have that will go [down] in history.
“And that career is not for six months or a year or two years. Let’s see and let everybody develop in the way they should.”
“I was looking at him and just wanted to achieve what he was doing,” said Arteta, recalling his time at Barcelona with Guardiola.
“I loved the way he played and the way he was transmitting on the pitch and understanding what was happening. He was an inspiration since I was 18-years-old.
“It’s his way of thinking, his way of transmitting, the way he understood the game, the passion he had about the game and football.
“It’s a lot of things and then, when you have a personal relationship with somebody – you have that chemistry – that takes that to a different level and that’s what happened in my case, especially when we worked together.
“Not only him, but a few of the senior players when I was at Barcelona were very good to me.”
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