Mikel Arteta has revealed the secret funny side of Pep Guardiola.
The pair first met when Arteta was a 15-year-old at Barcelona ’s famous La Masia academy and Guardiola was the club captain aged 26.
But there was still a connection between the rival managers which prompted Manchester City boss Guardiola to take Arteta to the Etihad as his assistant as soon as he retired from playing.
Gunners boss Arteta remains good friends with Guardiola, they are both obsessed and very serious when it comes to football but, away from the pitch, there is a different unexpected side to their characters.
When asked what their common interests are, Arteta said: “To laugh! We both spend a lot of time together. One of the main things is because we laugh a lot and get on really well.
“We clicked straight away, thanks to him. I always admired him, he was a first-team player and I was 15 years old. He came really close to me and was extremely helpful from day one, trying to help me, teach me and build a relationship with me.
“After that we became friends, we worked together and we had exceptional times together. Today that relationship is probably even stronger.
“Personally I think we are very different characters. We get on really well together and we love spending time together. We have that obsession about the game, understanding the game and trying to find other ways to do it and the passion to do on the pitch.
“It is what we were taught when we were in Barcelona, because we had a really similar education. That is the way we live and breathe football. That’s why we love what we do.”
Arteta does find himself in the spotlight again, the clouds of doom surrounding him were eased slightly by the thrashing of West Brom in the Carabao Cup in midweek.
But after two defeats at Brentford and then to Chelsea, if Arsenal lose to City then it could see them finish August bottom of the Premier League after making their worst ever start to a campaign.
However, Arteta insists that he has never doubted himself even through this rocky spell and he still passionately believes the club is moving in the right direction.
Arteta added: “I cannot have more energy, more determination and more desire to turn things around. I think nobody has that more than myself at the moment.
“There is always going to be people that are unhappy. I haven’t see any single fan with a manager, with players, that are happy when we are losing football matches. It just doesn’t happen and it is not realistic.
“I really believe in what we are trying to do. I see the progress, I see everything that has been changed around the club, that it is in a much better place. I see the atmosphere around the place, I see the belief that the players have when we are coaching them.
“We need results and we are going to have difficult moments. Thankfully we know that we are going to have some difficult moments. It’s about trying to explain that situation, that narrative to everybody. Everybody is involved with that.
“We have to try to explain it because it’s the truth, it’s the reality and probably it is the only solution that we had to get the club in a stable financial position, as well with the ambition that we want to bring success to the club as quickly as possible.”
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