Pep Guardiola was given the platform to engage in pre-match mind games with rival coach Mikel Arteta ahead of Manchester City鈥檚 meeting with Arsenal in the on Sunday.
He didn鈥檛 bite.
鈥淟ook what鈥檚 happened around the world,鈥� Guardiola said Friday. 鈥淲e have an incredible chaos and nobody moves one finger. Everything is behind the scenes. The world is going to collapse and still we are here talking about dark arts.鈥�
Guardiola鈥檚 reference to 鈥渄ark arts鈥� recalled a flashpoint between the teams that reared up after a Premier League match in September 2024, when Arsenal鈥檚 tactics drew following a .
Midfielder Bernardo Silva said Arsenal鈥檚 players pushed 鈥渢he limits of what was possible to do.鈥� Defender John Stones said they 鈥渂reak up the game which upsets the rhythm.鈥� It was full back Kyle Walker, no longer at City, who described Arsenal鈥檚 perceived tactics as 鈥渄ark arts.鈥�
Those comments prompted saying he has 鈥渁ll the information鈥� about City owing to his time there as an assistant to Guardiola from 2016-19.
to be “more clear exactly what does he mean.鈥�
A year and a half later, Guardiola wasn鈥檛 in the mood to reignite that argument.
鈥淭here are officials to deal with these kind of things,鈥� he said.
Indeed, the City manager praised the evolution and 鈥渟olidarity鈥� of Arsenal, which is in contention to win this season as the Premier League leader by nine points and having advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League and FA Cup.
鈥淓xceptional team,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a big challenge for us to see how our level is.鈥�
Arteta said his relationship with Guardiola 鈥渉ad to鈥� change because they are in charge of teams who have become big rivals.
鈥淏ut what I feel about him and the time that we had together and what he did for me 鈥� the inspiration he has been since I was little 鈥� that is never going to change,鈥� Arteta said.
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