Livescore
Manchester City has undoubtedly been the king of English football over the past few years. Barring their defeat at the hands of Liverpool during the 2019/20 season, the club from the North West of England has won four of the last five Premier League titles.
In fact, the rivalry between Pep Guardiola‘s City and Jurgen Klopp‘s Liverpool has been at the forefront of English football with both managers pushing each other to greater levels.
“We have helped to raise the standards of the Premier League,” Guardiola once confessed. “Klopp‘s Liverpool is the most difficult rival I have faced.”
However, this season has been different with Guardiola coming up short so far against one of his disciples in the form of Mikel Arteta and Arsenal. The Gunners currently lead the Citizens by three points and have a game in hand over their rivals, whom they meet on February 15.
“It’s not about beating Pep, it’s about beating City,” Arteta said. “We’re very different: a team has experience in these races and many of our players have never experienced it. Our challenge is to get to that level and we need that energy to say: ‘We want to be here.'”
Arteta is currently overseeing one of the best seasons Arsenal has had in the Premier League. However, their inability to break away from City coupled with their recent results, a loss to Everton and a draw against Brentford have blown the title race wide open with City now in a position to move ahead due to goal difference albeit having played an extra game.
The student looks to usurp the master
Having served as Guardiola‘s assistant between 2016 and 2019 Arteta has a history with the City boss that dates back to their time at Barcelona.
“I met him when I was 15 years old and was at La Masia,” Arteta previously said on Sky Sports.
“He was my idol. When I was playing and he was managing Barcelona and Bayern Munich he would call me to ask me about English teams and how to play them.
“Pep told me that when he was in England he had the dream of doing what he had done at Barcelona and that he wanted my help and experience to achieve it.”
Guardiola previously predicted Arteta’s success
When Arteta was approached by Arsenal, Guardiola not only enabled the move to occur but also predicted that his one-time assistant coach would find success if given the time.
“I wasn’t going to ask him to stay, everyone has their dreams and he went to his club,” Guardiola stated. “If they give him time, they will be rivals to fight for titles.”
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