Mikel Arteta renews acquaintances with Pep Guardiola on Friday night wishing he was going toe to toe for the title with anyone else but his mentor
The Gunners boss was forced to direct operations from isolation at home, after testing positive for Covid, as Arsenal suffered a gut-wrenching – and hugely controversial – 2-1 defeat by Manchester City on New Year's Day 2022, when the teams last met. Since then, Arteta has masterminded an astonishing title charge and he takes his Premier League front runners to the Etihad in the FA Cup fourth round admitting he has mixed feelings about separating business from old pals' acts.
Asked if his relationship with Guardiola – under whom he worked as an assistant coach at City – made it even more special that they are rivals for the title, Arteta said: “I would prefer to do it with someone else, to be fair. I want the best for him, genuinely, and when you are challenging with someone like this and something comes in-between that, it’s a strange feeling.
“But it is what it is, and that’s our challenge. I always hoped that (fighting for the title) was going to be the case one day, and it’s happening this season. That’s not going to change any friendship, the moments that we have, how important he is in my life, how important he is in my profession.
“We’re both willing our teams to win and defend our clubs in any way, and that’s always been the case since day one. But we have not done anything yet and there are still things to improve.”
Guardiola sold striker Gabriel Jesus and left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arsenal for a combined £75 million last summer, believing the Gunners were still miles off becoming immediate title rivals. Astonishingly, they have dropped only seven points in 19 games, but if the City manager harbours any regrets about his decision to let hem go, Arteta insists there are no hard feelings.
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Jesus, who made an explosive impact in north London, is expected to be out for another month after knee surgery, while Zinchenko has been a revelation at left-back. Arteta said: “It was all done in a really nice way between the clubs and between us personally because you have to do that respectfully.
“It was all agreed by everybody, a three-party decision - if not, they wouldn’t be here, that’s for sure. Zinny is a player who gives us everything that we want in that position - I will especially highlight his mentality and a real desire to make something special with this team. The experiences that he has had in the past (at City) is very helpful to do that.”
Arsenal and City meet twice in the next 19 days, with the FA Cup tie followed by a massive top-of-the-table showdown at the Emirates. It is a potentially season-defining double-header for both clubs, and Arteta agreed: “It will define them, obviously, because if we are able to win on Friday, then we will go to the next round and they won’t.
“If they beat us, then it will be the other way around. The FA Cup is a competition that is very important to us, very attached to our club and history and it will define a moment, that is for sure. I think they will be two very different games. Obviously, it is important to play well and to win - that gives you more momentum and confidence and prepares you better for the next match.”
Arteta admitted there are “concerns” that midfield Mohamed Elneny faces a long lay-off, amid speculation that a knee injury could keep him out for the rest of the season – and force Arsenal into the market to sign top-class reinforcements. Brighton's Moises Caicedo, Everton's Amadou Onana and Juventus ' Weston McKennie have been linked with the Gunners, and the Arsenal boss conceded: "Well, we need some more cover in midfield, ideally, if we can.
"In this market, it's pretty complicated to do that. The most important thing is that we get the performances and the time on the pitch that we need with the players we have available today that are already really good. If there's anything else available that can make us better, we'll look at it. Mo is a player who never complains about anything. But let's see. He had some issues with his knee that we are assessing at the moment."
