Mikel Arteta spent time as Pep Guardiola’s assistant manager at Manchester City after hanging up his playing boots.
The ex-midfielder was still working with the Premier League champions when Arsenal offered him the job as their manager.
He has since proven to be a good appointment and his team tops the EPL table now.
City has dominated the competition in the last few seasons and is just behind the Gunners on the league table.
Interestingly, master and student are both chasing the league title now and most fans attribute Arteta’s success to the time he spent with Pep.
However, the City manager refuses to take that credit. He said via The Daily Mail:
‘I’d like to say a lot (of City influence at the Emirates) but I’d lie to you. Mikel and I worked together for 3 years.
‘He was taught since he was born. Maybe I learned more off him than he did off me when we worked together.
‘Arsenal have the work ethic, the talent, the support. In the bad moment in the beginning, Mikel had the support in the decisions unconditionally.’
Just Arsenal Opinion
Pep is just being humble, but he remains one of the best managers in the world and Arteta certainly learned a few things from him.
There are similarities between how Arsenal and City play and it is easy to see that Pep has a huge influence on how Arteta manages his team.