Friends are foes as Mikel, Pep face off in title race
● Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta wants his team to enjoy the moment in today’s English Premier League clash against a Manchester City side he believes have pushed the level of the game globally — and who have the world’s best coach in Pep Guardiola.
Arsenal, who face an anxious wait to see if Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Magalhaes will be fit for the match, top the league table with 10 games to go in a nail-biting title race on 64 points. Holders City are third on 63, while Liverpool are second with 64.
A victory would end Arsenal’s nine-year winless drought at the Etihad, and be a massive boost to their title hopes. “We’ve done a lot already to be in the position that we are, and now we have to embrace and enjoy the moment and go for it,” Arteta said.
“(City) have raised the bar in this league, I think in football in general, to a level that hadn’t been seen before. And that’s the beauty of the sport, that makes you better, that challenges you more, and you have to keep up with that pace. And that’s what we are trying to do.”
The Gunners have kept pace and more in recent weeks, winning their last eight league games, while scoring an astounding 33 goals.
Arteta was an assistant under Guardiola at City before taking the managerial reins at Arsenal, and the two Spaniards’ friendship goes back to their days as players. Sitting in opposing dugouts, however, has meant a change in their relationship. “It has to change, (but) my admiration for him certainly not,” Arteta said of Guardiola.
“My opinion is he is the best coach in the world by a mile, and he’s one of the nicest people I have met in football. But our roles at the moment are where they are, and it has to adapt to the situation.
“Probably I would prefer to (beat) somebody else that I don’t have those feelings (of friendship) for, but it is not a choice. We both want to win. We know each other very well and I will prepare the game to win it.”
Arsenal were the form team in the league heading into the international break, and Arteta hopes they can quickly regain any lost momentum. “You cannot (maintain it), that momentum is gone,” he said.
“Now everybody’s back, everybody’s so positive about what is coming, and looking forward to it. I was watching everybody walk in the building and I love the energy. I loved their smiles, they were glad to be back. They were actually wanting to train yesterday.”
Arteta revealed forwards Saka and Martinelli and centre-back Gabriel have not trained since the team returned from the break, but that there is a chance they could play. Saka withdrew from the England squad with a hamstring injury, while Martinelli (foot injury) and Gabriel (Achilles) were not involved with Brazil.
Arteta supported Ben White’s decision to make himself unavailable for England selection when asked about the criticism the defender has received.
City will be without defenders Kyle Walker and John Stones in today’s showdown after both were injured on international duty. “It is what it is,” manager Pep Guardiola told reporters on Friday.
On the plus side for City fans, goalkeeper Ederson, who missed City’s FA Cup quarterfinal game against Newcastle United on March 16, is doing “much, much better,” Guardiola said.
England’s Walker and Stones picked up their injuries during the recent international break, with Walker’s injury more serious than Stones’, he added.
Kevin De Bruyne who missed five months earlier this season recovering from hamstring surgery is expected to play despite the groin issue that saw him withdraw from the Belgium squad that drew 2-2 with England on Tuesday. “Kevin is a really important player, it has been a tough season for him,” Guardiola said.
While today’s game is the last direct clash between any of the top three teams, Guardiola said the game holds no more importance than any of the other remaining fixtures. “Right now, every game is so important. The next game will be important as well,” he said.
City are unbeaten in the league since December 6 but have drawn two of their last five, including a 1-1 draw at Liverpool earlier this month.
The game is expected to be much tighter than Arsenal’s trip to the Etihad last season when they were thrashed 4-1 as eventual champions City took control in the title race.