Saturday, September 28, 2024 – Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said he still "loves" Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola despite last weekend's bad-tempered top-of-the-table clash.
The EPL champions needed a John Stones equaliser deep into
stoppage time to escape with a 2-2 draw against 10-man Arsenal at the Etihad
Stadium.
Arteta's side, runners-up to City in the Premier League for
the past two seasons, had Leandro Trossard sent off just before the interval.
The Gunners did their best to deliberately disrupt their
rivals with time-wasting and cynical fouls in the second half.
City struggled to break down Arsenal despite dominating
possession, leading Stones and teammate Bernardo Silva to accuse the north
Londoners of resorting to football's "dark arts".
Arteta, who worked as Guardiola's assistant at City before
becoming Arsenal boss, said the controversy would not get in the way of his
personal relationship with his fellow Spaniard.
"I love him, I respect
him and I admire him, his team and everything that he does," he said
Friday, on the eve of his side's match against Leicester.
"This is a sport - one
thing is our profession and the other is our personal relationship.
"If my relationship has
to be damaged because we play against each other and one draws or the one wins,
or the amount of times that we have lost then I wouldn't talk to him any
more."
Arteta was asked by reporters whether it was harder to
maintain a friendship when games between title contenders are so ferocious.
"It's quite simple -
don't take it personally, it's part of our job," he said."The things
that you really care about, make sure you handle them in the right
way."That relationship, I really care about. It's the same with a lot of
people in their staff and players that I spent some very important years of my
life with."
"It's quite simple. Don't take it personally, it's part of our
job"
Unbeaten Arsenal are fourth in the table, two points behind
City, who are top of the pile after five games.
Arteta, whose team meet Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions
League next week, said he was unsure whether goalkeeper David Raya would be fit
to face Leicester after picking up an injury against City.
"We have to wait 24
hours to see if he's looking good or not that good", he said.
"It's quite simple. Don't take it personally, it's part of our job"
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) September 27, 2024
Mikel Arteta says that he 'loves' Pep Guardiola and cares about the relationship that they have ❤️ pic.twitter.com/KNJ13Fl54p
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