Mikel Arteta makes promise to Pep Guardiola as Arsenal and Man City rivalry explodes
Mikel Arteta says there is no chance his friendship with Pep Guardiola will be destroyed by increasingly heated on-pitch battles between Arsenal and Manchester City
by Alan Smith · The MirrorMikel Arteta may be tired of the dark arts talk but he has been energised by the increasingly spicy rivalry with Manchester City.
The Gunners boss, speaking ahead of Saturday's visit of Leicester City to the Emirates Stadium, believes that a bit of needle between rivals is much better than patting one another on the back in congratulation.
Yet he insists that his friendship with Pep Guardiola, whom he served as assistant for three and a half years, will not be destroyed by their battles.
“I love him, I respect him, I admire him and I admire his team and everything that he does,” Arteta said. “This is sport. One thing is our profession another is our personal relationship.
“If our relationship was damaged because one draws and the other one wins or the amount of times that they’ve beaten us, I would not talk to him anymore.
“So that’s not our relationship, especially the relationship that I consider both of us have. In sport it will never get in my way, a personal relationship. That’s for sure.”
Pushed on their relationship later, Arteta added: hey won the last four Premier League titles and our relationship continues to be the same, so what has to change for that relationship to be over?
But when it was suggested that an Arsenal title win could be a tipping point, Arteta responded: “I don’t think that [the relationship being affected] will happen.”
Arteta also said having been an employee of City makes the current situation easier because he knows the people on the other side.
“It helps you to know people in different situations,” he continued. “When you get to know those people in the good and the bad, when things go your way, and they don’t go your way, then you understand them much better. For me it’s not a surprise and I’m very comfortable with that.
Jurrien Timber and Ben White could feature against Leicester having trained on Friday but David Raya is a major doubt because of his thigh injury sustained last weekend.
His expected absence means Neto, a deadline day arrival from Bournemouth, will debut in goal. “He has played in various countries, at the highest level in different roles,” Arteta said of the Brazilian. “He is someone we can throw in at any moment.”
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