Mikel Arteta said he called Pep Guardiola to congratulate him on winning the title after Arsenal’s loss to Nottingham Forest handed the Premier League crown to Manchester City last weekend.
The 1-0 defeat meant City were able to lift the trophy at the Etihad in front of their fans on Sunday after a 1-0 win over Chelsea. Arsenal led the way for most of the season before several slip-ups in the run-in - as well as the 4-1 loss to City - allowed the Blues to make up the ground.
There was no wallowing from former City assistant Arteta, though, who contacted his close friend to praise him for his achievement.
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Speaking to Sky Sports, he said regarding Guardiola: “I called him to congratulate him and the staff because people may think things that happen are granted for them.
“They have to work so hard and all the hours they put in, how much they suffer and how much they have to think and think… and try to always promote that winning mentality that they are doing.
“Then at the end, you have to say congratulations, this is sport. He’s a really good friend of mine. I not only respect him but I admire him as a person, as a professional.
“So when you are in reach, you have to take all of the positive things that we’ve done in the season and how far we’ve come, and some (lessons) for sure to be better.”
Arteta revealed he did watch City’s trophy lift - something he himself had done during his final season at the Etihad. He pinpointed Arsenal's “mistakes” made during the run-in but noted the difference in consistency between both Arsenal and City.
“They deserve it as simple as that. 38 games - it doesn’t lie,” Arteta said. “We have some regrets against Liverpool, 2-0 up, West Ham and the penalty, against Southampton the mistakes that we made and it was 3-3.
“Even if we had won all those games, it wasn’t enough. And this is the level. Everything has to be perfect, there are no margins for error.
“Everything has to go your way for 10-and-a-half months and we had some bumps in the road for the last final part and made some mistakes that were critical not to reach that level.”
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