Pep Guardiola explains how his relationship with Mikel Arteta has changed

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Pep Guardiola explains how his relationship with Mikel Arteta has changed

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has admitted that his relationship with Arsenal counterpart Mikel Arteta has had to adapt and change over the last three and a half years, but insists the ‘affection’ for his fellow Spaniard will never fade.

Prior to being appointed Arsenal manager in December 2019, Arteta was an assistant coach under Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium for more than three years. In fact, he left his job at City in order to branch out on his own for the first time when the Gunners sacked Unai Emery.

Arteta guided Arsenal to FA Cup glory in his first season in charge and has overseen a project that has put the club into direct competition with Manchester City in this season’s Premier League title race. The Gunners haven’t won the league since 2004 – 19 long years – and hadn’t even been a genuine challenger since 2008 before the current campaign got underway last August.

Once colleagues, Guardiola has explained the nature of their relationship is no longer the same.

“It changed because he’s in London and I’m in Manchester, so we don’t see each other quite often,” the City boss explained. "He’s busy, I’m busy, but the affection and the respect I have with him will remain forever, he knows that.”

On the subject of Wednesday’s huge game, he added: “It is a final against a team who have been the best team in England so far. They're five points ahead of us and hopefully all of Manchester that day will be blue and can support us. We need incredible noise from the first minute to the end."

Should Arsenal manage to win at the Etihad Stadium, it would end the recent wobble of three successive draws that has opened the door to City and re-establish them as title favourites. However, if City win, they would cut the gap to just two points with two games in hand.