Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has defended his former assistant coach Mikel Arteta after the Arsenal boss’s difficult start to the season with the London club.
The Gunners find themselves 15th in the Premier League, having lost seven of their opening 12 games this campaign, but Guardiola has told Arsenal’s board to keep faith with Arteta:
“Arsenal doesn’t have a better manager that leads this club – in this year and the next – that is better than him. I don’t have to give publicly my support because he has it and he knows that he has it. He’s one of the best managers I’ve ever worked with, of course, and seen directly.
“I’m pretty sure he will turn over and will do it like everyone expects. But sometimes when a club comes from not a good period, sometimes it needs time. I would say [if I was] part of the board at Arsenal, I will not have any doubts about his quality and capacity to put Arsenal in the place like Arsenal deserves to be.”
Pressure is growing on Arteta following some woeful recent displays but it seems Guardiola has no doubts about his former assistant’s quality as a manager.
It must be pointed out, though, that moving from number two to being the boss doesn’t always work out. No matter how good a coach you are, some simply are not able to translate it into success on the pitch.
Guardiola, in contrast, was successful from day one when he became manager at Barcelona, and it seems he was simply one of those people who naturally excelled in the role. The road for Arteta seems to be a far more rocky one.
