Although Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal, and Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, are close friends, there is a chance that they will clash on the pitch.
Arteta left City in 2019 to take over as manager of Arsenal after serving as Guardiola's assistant for three years. The two Spaniards grew close, but Guardiola is aware that the intensifying rivalry between their teams may put a strain on their relationship.
In the Premier League, Arsenal has a five-point advantage over City going into Friday's FA Cup fourth-round encounter in Manchester. Arteta has displayed his emotional side on the sidelines several times this season, and Guardiola has proved that he, too, can lose his composure under pressure. Guardiola insists despite this that he would still consider Arteta a friend even if they quarrelled.
Guardiola told reporters on Thursday, “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year was the last time we spoke.” “He’s a rival, of course, he is. He wants to beat me and I want to beat him. I know how we both are and in defeat, we are not the best friends in the world. From my point of view, I have a huge respect for him as a person, and as a manager. That’s not going to change if we’re going to fight on the touchline. Sooner or later it’s going to happen, I guess, but when that is going to happen it’s not going to change the respect I have (for him) or anything.”
Considering the history between the two managers, this first of three meetings between the teams in the second half of the season promises to be a fascinating matchup. Guardiola was glad to defend his pal Arteta when criticism arose over his behaviour in the technical area following his card in last week’s win over Manchester United. After their FA Cup match, they still have to face each other twice in the Premier League.
“When you are top of the league they have to undermine you for another reason, and they are doing that right now. I know quite well this situation,” he said. “Anything can happen on the touchline in the moments of the game. I teach him a few things but this comes from himself, his mum and dad, and his character and that was already there. I know him and I had the feeling during the time we worked together that what he is doing is not fake, it is him.”