Pep Guardiola has never been afraid to heap praise on Mikel Arteta – so much so that the former Barcelona boss once backed his fellow countryman to replace him at the Etihad Stadium one day. The duo worked together at Manchester City for over three years, winning the Premier League twice and the FA Cup once.
The Gunners’ head coach may have only been Guardiola’s assistant, but he helped build one of the English top flight’s greatest-ever sides. With Arteta by his side, the Catalan was able to keep Jurgen Klopp at arm’s length – so it was no coincidence that Liverpool won their first league title in 30 years following his departure.
After working his magic at City, Arteta replaced Unai Emery at Arsenal in December 2019. A few months prior to taking the reins at London Colney, Guardiola said: “I’m pretty sure [he’ll succeed me]. He will have success. Sooner or later it’s going to happen [Arteta becoming a manager]. He’s a young, young manager.
“He has experience already, handling big players and big teams. He’s got an incredible work ethic. He has a special talent to analyse what happens and to find solutions. We talk a lot about what he believes and how he feels.”
Lauding Arteta’s character, the City boss added: “He’s so happy when we win but suffers when we don’t and that is why he tries to find a solution. He’s an incredible human being, with incredible values about what it means in the locker room to be together, and he is already an incredible manager and he’ll have incredible success in his future. We see the football in really quite a close way.”
Despite leaving the Etihad Stadium halfway into the 2019/20 season, Guardiola remained very complimentary of Arteta. However, City certainly didn’t hold back when they faced Arsenal a couple of years later, trouncing the Gunners 5-0.
After the game, Guardiola leapt to the defence of his former assistant. He said: “Of course I have [sympathy]. The back-five today who played, okay they are good players, but they are not the players they need with Tierney, Ben White and Gabriel and many, many players that he has.
“Thomas Partey is not there. In football, people want result, result, result. Sometimes, you have the squad – look at us, except for Phil and Kevin, all the other people are ready.
“It is easy for me. The players make our job good. The moment he has the full squad, everything is going well. I know him perfectly and know the quality he has as a person and as a manager.”
Then, in November 2022, Guardiola claimed that Arteta was always ready to become a top manager. Speaking to Rio Ferdinand on BT Sport, the City boss said: “No, absolutely not. He was already. I know Mikel, they see him, the sporting director Edu & the club, how he works, we saw in the documentary. Rely on him. It’s a process.”
Arteta currently sees his contract at Arsenal expire in 2025. With less than 18 months or so on his deal, he faces an increasingly uncertain future in north London and supporters will be desperate to see him pen an extension before it’s too late.