Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta reveals Pep Guardiola has inspired him for 20 years as he hails Man City boss

Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal, thinks Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, has changed football in a similar way to Johan Cruyff.

As a player and coach, Cruyff is renowned for his impact on football, and he is credited with creating the ‘Total Football’ ideology.

According to Arteta, Pep’s impact on football over the past 20 years has been “just incredibly powerful.”

He altered the game in the same way that Johan did in the past and in the same way that other managers have who will be remembered in history.

As a result, we have gained a lot from him and have been motivated by many of the things he has accomplished. However, everyone must choose their own profession and route.

“And that profession isn’t for six, twelve, or twenty-four months. Let’s wait and see everyone grow like they ought to.

Guardiola and Arteta initially met at Barcelona, where Guardiola was a first-team player and Arteta was a member of the academy.

After Arteta retired in 2016, the two were reunited about 20 years later when he joined Guardiola to work as an assistant at City.

When Arteta left in 2019, they grew close, and since then, he has led Arsenal to the top of the Premier League.

They play City in the FA Cup fourth round on Friday night; they are five points ahead of them and have a game in hand.

“I was looking at him and just wanted to achieve what he was doing,” said Arteta, recalling his time at Barcelona with Guardiola.

“I loved the way he played and the way he was transmitting on the pitch and understanding what was happening. He was an inspiration since I was 18-years-old.

“It’s his way of thinking, his way of transmitting, the way he understood the game, the passion he had about the game and football.

“It’s a lot of things and then, when you have a personal relationship with somebody – you have that chemistry – that takes that to a different level and that’s what happened in my case, especially when we worked together.

“Not only him, but a few of the senior players when I was at Barcelona were very good to me.”

Arteta may be inspired by Guardiola, but he insists there are differences in the way their teams play the game.

“I have never tried to copy and paste anything,” he said. “This club deserves much better than that, and it would not work that way.

“Every character and person dictates how the manager is, and how the team is. And we are very different.

“We are really different as people and we are very different as managers. That is why we understand each other so well and have the relationship that we have.

“I feel gratitude, first of all because he inspired me as a player and he inspired me and gave me the opportunity as a coach. That’s it.

“I probably wouldn’t have had the career I had as a player, the understanding of the game or the purpose I had as a player if he hadn’t been in that time at Barcelona.

“And I wouldn’t be sitting here and having that willingness and love for coaching if he hadn’t trusted in my love and given me the opportunity.”