Pep: There’s no way I’ll still be here in 20 years
PEP GUARDIOLA has written off any possibility of him establishing an Arsene Wenger-style dynasty at Manchester City.
“That is not going to happen because I am not going to be coaching in 20 years’ time,” says Guardiola as he prepares to face the Gunners at the Etihad this afternoon.
“I think Arsenal, and what happened with Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, are exceptions in world football.
“As a manager you have to be happy where you are and the chairman has to trust in you a lot.
“I like to move, to live and see new things. But everyone is different.
“Arsene has won titles, we cannot forget that. But he has also created something special at the club.
“When he arrived there it wasn’t a special team, but now after 20 years, you know exactly the identity of this club.
“Sometimes that is much more important than winning titles.”
Wenger has endured criticism over the last decade when no Premier League title has been forthcoming and Guardiola has already had a brief taste of what it might be like if his much-heralded style doesn’t work at City.
There have been a few murmurs of dissatisfaction as his team have tumbled from the top of the table. But he supports the right of fans to complain.
“I have a song here at City but if I don’t win, no song anymore,” he says.
“You have to make a good result. The fans pay for their ticket, go to a show and if they are not happy with what happens, they can express their feelings.
“If you cannot accept
it, you move on.”
Guardiola will need to organise his leaky defence to cope with Arsenal’s in-form striker Alexis Sanchez, a player he had under his management at Barcelona.
“Alexis played really well in Barcelona,” he says.
“But it is normal when you play with Messi that people think that he is not at his level, as the highlight is always Leo.
“But Alexis helped us a lot and played well. I think the position that he is in now, as a striker, suits him perfectly.
“At Barcelona maybe I didn’t help him too much as I like the wingers to be wide. He can do that, but he now plays more between the lines closer to the goal.
“Some of the moments he played really well as a striker, especially against Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final second leg when we went 2-0 up, but we were unlucky and they went through to the final.
“Alexis is a player who can play in several positions: left, right, central.
“He is a fighter with character and spirit, and he is a winner.
“He is a class, class player and now I think he is playing really well.
“With Chile he has won two South American cups and that shows what a good player he is.”
The Arsenal fixture is the first in the hectic traditional festive programme, something the Spaniard has never experienced before.
“This is the first time in my life I have done this, so I ask people who have been working here for a long time how to handle it.
“Maybe next season I will know better what I have to do, but in my thought now is Arsenal, then Hull, then Liverpool. Game by game.”