Mikel Arteta has the complete trust of the Arsenal board according to Pep Guardiola, who still retains a healthy relationship with his former assistant.
The Spaniard left the Etihad to take over in north London 18 months ago but has endured mixed results.
Arteta assumed the role from Unai Emery and won the FA Cup last term which saw optimism increase ahead of this season.
Arsenal though could miss out on European football with Arteta calling on the club's chiefs to invest in an effort to close the gap.
Guardiola is adamant that the Gunners will show improvement next year with the Arsenal hierarchy believing in their Spanish manager.
He said: "Arsenal… they trust with Mikel because I know him perfectly, they will make a step forward next season."
Arteta continues to be afforded time to achieve his goals at the Emirates with little talk of his job being under threat.
Arsenal signed several new faces last summer but they have been unable to reduce the gap on the Premier League's elite.
The Spaniard elaborated on comments he made about his players in a fiery interview following his side's win at Chelsea.
He said: "You can see the spirit of the team from the first minute. It doesn't matter whether we're playing seventh, eighth, ninth.
"You can never doubt their efforts and how much they are trying."
He then explained his earlier comments adding: "I said that if I don't get 120 per cent off each player, it's my fault and my responsibility, but it wasn't [portrayed] like that in the press and I am so annoyed with that.
"I will defend my players in front of anybody for the rest of the time that I'm here. They deserve that because they earn it every single day."
