Mikel Arteta and Josep Guardiola worked together at Manchester City, but have gone from colleagues to title rivals since the former moved to Arsenal.
Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta battle for the Premier League title (Image: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
The cold war between the Premier League’s fiercest managerial rivals appears to have finally thawed. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that he has not spoken to Josep Guardiola since the two faced off in the Carabao Cup final last month.
But even after Manchester City’s victory at Wembley, nerves were replaced by respect ahead of Sunday’s title decider at the Etihad.
Arteta famously took up his current job as Arsenal manager in December 2019 after working under Guardiola at City and learning from the best players.
City were not happy with Arteta’s departure, but the pair remained close until relations really hit a low point after Arsenal’s 2-2 draw at the Etihad in September 2024.
On that day, Arsenal had Leandro Trossard sent off, City midfielder Rodri suffered a serious knee injury, and Erling Haaland came under fire after he taunted him by telling him to “be humble”.
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City accused Arsenal of wasting their time, while Guardiola was furious during the back-and-forth after Arteta claimed to have “all the information” about his former club. This feud evolved into Fergie vs. Wenger, and really only served to increase the tension in the title fight.
They have been in a close race for the title, but the latest edition of Guardiola vs. Arteta has put the season on the line and brought us back to that point.
The first signs of a thaw came after City’s win over Chelsea last Sunday, when Guardiola insisted Arsenal deserved “respect” for what they have done this season. It was more than just the usual pre-game joy.
The pair became close while working together at Manchester City (Image: OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)
But Arteta insisted their friendship, which dates back nearly 30 years to Barcelona’s academy days, was back on track and that they would reconnect as soon as they had coffee or dinner.
Arteta added: “I think in a relationship, the first thing is distance. There’s a big difference between spending 14 hours a day together like we do and not spending any time together at all.”
“And obviously if you look at our situation, we’re both trying very similar things, so while the relationship changes, my feelings for him and the time we spent together certainly don’t.
“But if I have lunch or coffee with him within two minutes, that relationship becomes natural. We’re very good at differentiating things as a professional rivalry and a personal relationship, so that doesn’t change.”
Their partnerships and rivalries were intense. He has shaped the title race in three of the past four seasons. They have too many bets on Sunday to be anything but enemies. However, respect and friendship were restored. At least until things started happening at Etihad Airways.
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