To be a big club, you must act like a big club.
Manchester City are not a bigger institution than Arsenal by any metric, other than the fact Sheikh Mansour happened to choose to buy them in 2008.
There are Gooners who will argue that finishing second in the league is not the end of the world. Yet, when asked by Sky Sports on Tuesday night, Pep Guardiola made it clear that there is no scenario between now and May that could make this season a positive one.
Some Spurs fans suggest that finishing 16th in the table would be forgiven if Ange Postecoglou lifts the Europa League. Even Gary Neville contends that Manchester United winning that competition should be viewed as a success.
Guardiola, however, is adamant that even in the best-case scenario—finishing as high as possible in the league and winning the FA Cup—this would still constitute a “bad” year at the Etihad.
The irony is, if he chose to, the 54-year-old could produce as many excuses as his peers.
He manages a successful squad that has earned the right to falter. There is no shame in winning six of the last seven league titles and finally reaching a point where physical and mental fatigue catch up.
The Spaniard could point to the misfortune of losing Rodri since September, the ongoing fitness issues with Stones, or Haaland’s spells on the sidelines.
But if you want to understand why he is among the greatest managers in history, it’s because he sets standards—and refuses to tolerate anything less. No “what ifs”, no comfort zones, no compromises.
Sir Alex Ferguson once said you learn the most about a person not when things are going well, but when they face adversity.
Do you blame others?
Do you create conspiracy theories?
Do you wallow in self-pity?
Do you come up with a hundred reasons for failure?
In January, both Manchester City and Arsenal were falling short of their targets.
Observe how the ownership at Manchester responded, compared to those in North London.
Watch how both clubs behave this summer.
Listen to which fanbase justifies underachievement.
Note which manager is honest enough to call their season a failure.
Pep Guardiola demands excellence and refuses to accept anything less.
Which is precisely why he is the best.
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He’s seen as the best as he’s a good manager, and he doesn’t build teams from scratch, like Morhino they work with the cream off the top.
It is as simple as that.
You call Guardiola the best. This assumption is based on what exactly?
You don’t call someone the best because he doesn’t make excuses. And speaking of excuses, didn’t he blame the ball like Arteta did?
Also you don’t call someone the best because their club was quick to try and find a solution to problems.
There’s no manager who makes excuses like Klopp. He would even blame my grandma just to make an excuse. Yet whoever watches football will clearly see that Klopp is more of a tactical genius that Guardiola and his spending is significantly lower than Guardiola
Moreover, there exists a certain Ancelotti who has achieved more without having 115 charges. That is a fact
And before you point to his League titles, Conte also has many of those yet is never anywhere close to the conversation when talking about the best managers.
If I was to choose between Pep and Klopp to manage an average team which wasn’t going to get any investments but needed to be guided through a season, I know which manager I would choose
He’s the best because of what he wins while playing football the right way
I disagree completely. There’s no such thing as PLAYING FOOTBALL THE RIGHT WAY. Remember Guardiola’s tiki-taka? Now it’s Klopp’s gegenpressing that everyone is subscribing to. Before all these there existed people like Cruyff with TOTAL FOOTBALL and more will come up. Football is played WITHIN THE RULES and not THE RIGHT WAY
Been trying reply to this but my comment isn’t going through
ADMIN 😡
Your posts were held for moderation, there was no need to do ten posts, one would have sufficed.
I disagree completely. There’s no such thing as “playing football the right way”. Remember Guardiola’s tiki-taka? Now it’s Klopp’s gegenpressing that everyone is subscribing to. Before all these there existed people like Cruyff with “Total Football” and more will come up. Football is played “within the rules” and not “the right way”
Yeah you asked for my opinion though
Football is about winning trophies which he does
Pep is the closest to winning trophies playing the football I like
Especially at an era where Jose and Benitez were making football like a chess match
Those Chelsea Liverpool games were hard to watch
Along comes Pep who proves beauty can beat the beast
He wins because the clubs he chose to work with have pots of money. Tell him to work with financially weaker teams like Roma or “Tots”. At least Mou chose to work with these clubs and won. 2 x UCL with Porto and Milan, EL with Utd, Conference cup with Roma, leaving aside the domestic cups. Pep’s players are piad well, so he has to demand more for them. Have to give him credit for maintaining discipline at all his clubs and managing his/players egos, something Mou and Mikel are not very successful at.
He “demands excellence”. Of course, you can come up with any narrative you like when you have a platform. When Man City found they were struggling (which is relative to their own levels) they went out and spent over £180m. So, apparently, all it takes is to “demand excellence” to have this access to huge amounts of money which most teams could never dream of. Remember, this was merely to strengthen a side that was already stronger than most teams in world football. Once again we have a narrative being constructed to drive an agenda.
“But if you want to understand why he is among the greatest managers in history, it’s because he sets standards—and refuses to tolerate anything less. No “what ifs”, no comfort zones, no compromises.”
It’s funny that Pep gets praise for this (which I agree with), but when Arteta’s demands certain standards to be met from his players, like of Ozil, and especially Auba, he got a lot of flak.
When it comes to Pep, I find it tough to judge him. His teams play beautiful football, and he wins everything multiple times. But he’s had it easier than any other manager.
The best squads, the biggest budgets, and zero competition from his time in Germany. When you’ve got better tools than everyone else, it’s hard to say just how good is.
That said, I still think he’s one of the best out there.
Can’t fault your post
Because Arteta got rid of Ozil and finished 8th
Got rid of Auba and finished 5th
He didnt get flak for getting rid of them but not replacing them with anyone better
Pep for example would get rid of Hart but they ended up with Ederson
So one got rid of players to slash the wage bill , the other did it because he wanted the best
Do you think Pep would tolerate giving away a player and being left with Eddie Nketiah?
It’s different cultures at two clubs
Hence look at January
Here is where the difference in manager’s really gets interesting as dgr8xt seems to suggest.
Dan headline should have read ” The difference between Jergen Klopp and the rest including Arteta ”
The sheer difference in that sense is their man management skills, Jergen Klopp personal connection with players maybe only rival by a certain legendary Frenchman.
Klopp heavy metal football which can swiftly turn smash and grab against superior opposition is probaly why he’s seen as such a tactical genius
Guardiola is very bold, highly creative and one of a kind
I believe he was the one that invented the inverted-fullback tactics to counter the rampant overlapping-fullback ones
He might also be the only world-class manager that will never manage his own country’s national football team, because of his political comments
The most decorated football manager of all-time does come with that little flaw, but I hope he’ll manage Arsenal one day
Funny how once upon a time it was commonplace for many to bash Pep and say he was “buying success” with the massive amounts of cash he was spending.
However, under Arteta you don’t really hear it as much, considering we have spent massive amounts of cash, to the likely tune of over 1 billion in Arteta’s time as manager.
Difference is Pep tends to win trophies and titles as a result of the spending, unfortunately Arteta has not. Maybe in time he will, but currently our massive spending has resulted in another top 4 trophy, and the possibility of a CL trophy.
That CL trophy would turn around impressions, gloss over shortcomings, and paper over some cracks in the team.
Curious to see if the commenters saying “trophies are not everything,” will maintain that stance if we win the CL.
If they are consistent, they will say little if trophies truly “are not everything.” However, if they suddenly feel that trophies now prove something, see them for the hucksters they are. Rather than maintain consistency they change as quickly as the direction of the wind.
Bang on the money Durand 👍
Excuses we will hear though is that the squad needed a complete overhaul,so the manager gives players away or completely banishes them for no apparent reason then demands money year after year .
Now there is talk of another squad rebuild or the squads to short ,honestly the excuses keep coming and coming .
I honestly believe a better manager would have won a prem league with this squad over the last 3 years .
I defended him last 2 seasons but yes another manager would have challenged Liverpool more this season
Eddie Howe would have and I stand by that .
I still believe Pep buy trophies and I still have low opinion of him because of that.
Arteta is a very poor imitation of him.
Though if he does not manage to screw up the CL as per his norm I will completely change my opinion of him.
If Admin add the possibility to like or dislike a comment it will be cool. @ Durand, your comment gets 10k tumbs up
There is a lot of BS written about Pep but he is the best manager in league football at the moment. He is revolutionary. Others have tried to copy him, including our manager and can not hold a candle to him. His trophy cabinet says it all.
FFP/PSR charges and its outcome will define the legacy of Pep. His story is not yet complete. If he comes out clean his methods will remain the prototype for modern football.
Would that be his fault though mate
As in if his bosses tell him they are telling the truth ?
Pep no doubts is the best coach. But for me it depends on what constitutes an excuse, a coach stating injuries were a reason behind poor performance can’t be seen as an excuse. Even Pep himself was qouted many times this season blaming injuries for the poor results and no one challenges him because of his previous successes.
He did blame Foden and Rodri’s absences for some poor results this season. Fact @Dan
Thanks Oyama for that insight.
For all of Pep’s and M. City’s recent achievements they can say that now. Arteta has some many times said that 2nd is not good enough for the history of the club and where they want to be. He even said something similar with his first interview as our manager and coach.
Show me Pep’s comments during his first season at City. He made excuses. He is from history clearly a better manager than Mikel. Are you going to Sign him? Ancelloti made a lot of excuses during his time at Everton after they spent big money to make Europe at least the first season, and then compete with the top 4.
This shows we can always cherry pick what we like to move our agenda. Truth will always be truth though some may choose to acknowledge or deny. This team is getting there and will surely get there. Liverpool did with Klop. I remember some of my mates mocking them for not winning the epl at all and the league for over 26 seasons and saying they will never win it. But the metrics showing improvement were there, clearly visible and they ended up winning it with same manager. Even if they didn’t the metrics were not lies.
Sorry for late reply Dan due to the disappearance of the comments section altogether. Let us first think the verdict shall maintain the innocence of the great manager Pep and City though justice has to prevail. If City are otherwise found out guilty there is no logical argument for Pep to say he was unaware of all the fuss. Pep was and still is best mate and has water tight closeness with the 2 key Spaniards (Soriano txiki begristian) who make key decisions on behalf of the club. Their friendship dates back to their playing times in Spain. The longevity of the faulty years which is around 9 years makes it illogical to give the benefit of the doubt to err on the side of Pep though he was in effect responsible for a few of those years. Pep is appointed the manager of the club to primarily oversee its overall operations not a tactics and techniques coach only. My argument is too hypothetical. Some who read too much of the story even associate the decline of City this season with the charges. City is quite bigger and much talented than Rodri to be affected by one player’s injury.
Sir Alex Ferguson won his first EPL title 7 seasons after his appointment. Arteta will likewise repeat this feat in his 7th season at Arsenal next season. Man Utd waited for 26 years; Arsenal 22 years. EPL title is a must for Arsenal and Arteta in 2025/26 season.
My favourite Pep moment is watching Barcelona totally humiliate Manure 4-0 in the Champion’s League final. Amazing masterclass from the likes of Messi, Xhavi, Busquets and Alves against possibly United’s best ever team. Most frustrating, was watching the frustration ( and bad luck) of Barcelona bowing out to a stubborn Chelsea in a Champion’s League semi final. Pep has set the standards but I would still like to see him prove himself by taking over a team such as Sunderland and within their budget see if he can do what Brian Clough did with Derby County and Forest.
Memory playing tricks. Score was 3-1. Not such a great United side but Barcelona totally dominant. I think I got the Manure teams from 2009 and 2011 mixed up. Ronaldo and Beckham were not in 2011 teams. Memory blanks.
Further fact check. Beckham was in neither Manure team mentioned above.
I think if you look in Guardiola’s trophy cabinet, that’ll give you your answer, SIMPLES!.🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
Quite a while before I commented on JA, I had reached the point where I thought the club needed a change at the top and my pick was Guardiola. He set the benchmark for success as a player and as a manager.
In relation to this season I recall his faltering, whispering voice trying to come to terms with the prospect of failing during post match interviews and it surprised me. Your article, is an interesting one but it seems to me that having lost Rodri, Haaland and Stones is enough for you to allow Pep off the hook for the free fall earlier. Arsenal on the other hand have faced serious injury issues and have managed that disappointment pretty well.
It’s a no brainer that the combination of buying the league over the earlier years of the Mansour era and the hiring of Guardiola is a match made in heaven. I’d have loved him to have come to Arsenal as I believe he’d have brought success with him. Water under the bridge now
That’s the difference though Sue
Pep says this has been a bad season
You as a fan say we have managed this disappointed pretty well
It’s a culture problem
Well yes to a point Dan. It doesn’t alter the near meltdown in his voice at times which was the surprise to me. I recall a couple of times that Arteta showed his shock by a poor result, but generally he was and is combative in the face of disappointment. Guardiola sounded shell shocked for several weeks.
Managing disappointment wasn’t meant as a cultural matter rather that the disappointment of losing so many players- often for weeks, was handled better by Arsenal as the league table shows and to still be fighting on the European front
As for a culture problem, that has been a problem for a long time, so I agree there, but I definitely do see signs of improvement.
He’s very passive aggressive as well which I don’t like