Coach Mikel Arteta praised his ‘teacher’ coach Pep Guardiola ahead of the match.
Arsenal and Manchester City will face each other in the 4th round of the 2022-23 season English FA Cup held at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England at 5 am (Korean time) on the 28th.
This season, Arsenal is aiming for the top spot in the league for the first time in 19 years. After 19 games, they accumulated 50 points (16 wins, 2 draws, 1 loss) and took a step closer to the championship. With one game less played than second-placed Manchester City, the odds are good as they lead by five points.
The merit lies with coach Arteta. Since Arteta took over at Arsenal in 2019, he has been steadily rebuilding by knocking out older players one after another and replacing them with young blood. Despite last season’s ups and downs, coach Arteta was the one who trusted and continued to appoint promising players and made them bloom this season. 스포츠토토
Guardiola, who will face this time, is a teacher-teacher relationship. Guardiola brought Arteta to coach Man City in 2016. Arteta rose to the ranks of the team’s assistant coach, assisting manager Guardiola, learning his tactics and forming his own philosophy. This experience has been incorporated into Arsenal’s current style.
Coach Arteta praised his mentor ahead of the game. “Guardiola’s impact on football over the past 20 years is unbelievably powerful. He changed football like Johan Cruyff did in the past, and he did it like no other manager in history. We learn from him and inspire him. I received it,” he said, praising Guardiola’s tactical capabilities.
“I have been inspired by Guardiola since I was 18 years old. I learned from his way of thinking, his delivery, the way he understands the game, the passion he had for the game and football. If he hadn’t played for Barcelona, I wouldn’t have a purpose as a player.” He added that Guardiola drew Arteta into football.
Even so, he showed his pride. It was a story that Arsenal’s way was obviously different from that of Man City. “I never tried to copy and paste anything,” Arteta said. “Arsenal deserves much better than that and it won’t work that way. Me and Guardiola are very different.”