Mikel Arteta opens up on his relationship with 'idol' Pep Guardiola

Mikel Arteta opens up on his relationship with ‘idol’ Pep Guardiola, as he reflects on the pair’s time at Man City… and how he was willing to ‘die for him’ due to his determination to change English football when he first arrived in the Premier League

  • Mikel Arteta worked as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Man City for three years
  • Arteta has opened up about Guardiola being his ‘idol’ when he was a teenager
  • He has explained that the pair had a plan to work together for a number of years
  • Arteta wanted to team up with Guardiola to change English football
  • The pair achieved great success at City, winning back-to-back league titles 

Mikel Arteta has revealed that he was determined to work with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City to help his ‘idol’ change English football.

Arteta has just celebrated three years in charge of Arsenal, but before his current role he spent over three years at the Etihad Stadium as Guardiola’s assistant.

The 40-year-old has explained that he and Guardiola communicated regularly while he was still playing, and he knew for years that they would team up when Guardiola moved to the Premier League.    

Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola worked together at Manchester City between 2016 and 2019

Arteta opened up on his relationship with Guardiola in an interview with Jamie Carragher for Sky Sports, telling the former Liverpool defender:  ‘We met when I was 15 years old. He was my idol, he was the one to emulate if I wanted to be a first-team player at Barcelona, and we built that relationship from there. 

‘And then it was weird because when I was still playing and he was the Barcelona manager and Bayern Munich manager he would call me to ask about English teams and how would you play against that, and we built that relationship. 

‘And one day it was very clear to me, (Guardiola said) “the day that I’m in England, I have a dream to do what I did in Barcelona in this league when everybody said it is impossible to do, and I would like your help and support and experience to help me to achieve that dream”. That was it.’

When Guardiola joined City in 2016, he wanted Arteta by his side. Arteta had only just ended his playing career with Arsenal, and had an opportunity to work in their academy, but decided to move to City instead despite having reservations about taking on such a big job as his first role in coaching.

‘It was a tough decision because I was really attached to Arsenal and I could see that there was a role there that I could fulfil and it could be really helpful,’ Arteta explained.

Arteta wanted to work alongside Guardiola to help his ‘idol’ change English football

‘But again going back to the story, it was building many years before with Pep, I thought that was the right step for me. I had my fears because I said “listen, I haven’t coached anybody so how am I going to go to the best coaching staff in the world and give something back that you’re expecting me to do?” But Pep was so convinced about it that I made a decision to go there.

‘I think I was able to do it because Pep was so supportive and he gave me so much license right from the beginning that it made my job easier. At the beginning, just listen a lot and talk very little. 

‘And then with the players it was easy. They were a great group of players, they welcomed me so much, and I think then it is about building that trust.’

Guardiola’s first year did not go according to plan as City ended the 2016-17 season without a trophy.

Arteta’s faith in Guardiola never wavered, though, as he was always convinced that the team were heading in the right direction.

‘We had to change a lot of the departments. We had to understand the culture of English football, how the referees act, how the media work. There was a lot of things that Pep was very interested (in), and I spent 14-15 years of my life in this country, so he was very interested in that,’ Arteta added.

Despite a difficult start, Guardiola and Arteta proved a successful partnership at City

‘Some of the things we were going to go against it straight away because it’s against the culture of English football, and it’s going to take a while to break that wall, but when you have a person that is so determined, so clear, so focused and has such strong beliefs, you just die for him. 

‘And it took a while, the first year it wasn’t easy, but I think the process that we put in place and the roles that we had and the clarity that we had in the coaching staff, it was helping.’

After a disappointing debut campaign together, Guardiola and Arteta proved their critics wrong in the following two seasons, winning the league in consecutive seasons and completing a domestic treble in 2018-19.

Arteta left City in December 2019 to take the manager’s hotseat at Arsenal, and is now trying to stop his former club’s dominance, with the Gunners five points clear of Guardiola’s side ahead of the Premier League resuming on Boxing Day. 




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