Pep Guardiola has signed a new contract with Manchester City that will see the Spaniard remain with the Premier League champions through until at least 2025. Arsenal look on knowing that Guardiola will be scheming their demise as his side try to close the five-point gap to the Gunners at the top of the table.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, a former colleague and understudy to Guardiola, is beyond all else a good friend and his former tutor has been persistently complimentary of his ex-student. Yet it is somewhat stunning how quickly Arteta has helped his Arsenal side catch and move above, as things stand, Manchester City.
With Guardiola signing his new deal, the continuation of the Spaniard will of course have permutations beyond his own club. football.london takes a look at how Arsenal will be affected by the renewal.
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Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal future secure… for now
Mikel Arteta may have only signed his three-year deal with Arsenal this year, however, with speculation that surrounded Guardiola’s future, there was always fear, even if in the background, that City would look to their former assistant coach to be their future.
Arteta has been linked to the likes of Barcelona and always dismissed potential claims of moving away from Arsenal. With Guardiola however signing a new deal, at least for now, Arteta’s future remains solidly attached to north London and the Gunners, at least until Guardiola’s contract comes to an end again.
Arsenal face continued Man City stability in title hopes
With Arsenal the only realistic title rival for Manchester City this season, it has elevated the Gunners into a level of thinking for the future that perhaps most thought was a couple of years away at least. The ambition of the club is certainly to try and be challenging year after year.
With Guardiola’s continuation with City, there will not be any type of transition and the juggernaut which is this multi-Premier League title-winning side will push once again with resources that seemingly outweigh the Gunners. Arsenal will have to continue to be shrewd and accurate in the market if they want to keep pace and compete without relying on a City slip through managerial uncertainty.
Learning from transfer mistakes
Guardiola allowed both Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to leave the Champions and they have since improved the Gunners so significantly that Arsenal find themselves five points clear. Reports had claimed that discussions at the Citizens had included ruling out any further moves to the Gunners.
Whilst that might sound outlandish, based on the performances and subsequent improvement of the Gunners, it’d be unlikely that City would want to sanction any further moves. Guardiola’s continuation with City therefore might maintain that policy, if it does exist.
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