Mikel Arteta has reacted to claims of a face-off between him and his former boss, Pep Guardiola over the Premier League title.
Pep Guardiola appointed Arteta as his assistant at Manchester City in 2016 before the former Arsenal midfielder was picked for the Arsenal job in 2019 following the sack of Unai Emery.
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Both men have been friends and have been publicly declaring their intentions to see each other succeed.
But now the two pals are standing in the way of each other as Arsenal and Manchester City battle for the Premier League title.
But Arteta is insisting that his friendship with Guardiola is ‘not going to change’ as their championship duel intensifies.
City will host Arsenal in the FA Cup fourth round on Friday and Arteta is relishing the fight for silverware with his fellow Spaniard.
Arsenal sit top of the Premier League standing on 50 points, five points ahead of Manchester City on 45.
Asked how he felt about going head-to-head with Guardiola on two fronts, Arteta said: “I always hoped this would be the case one day and it is happening this season.
“Obviously, that is not going to change any friendship, how important he is in my life and how important he is to my profession.
“We both want to win and defend our clubs in the best possible way. That has always been the case since day one. I would prefer to do it with someone else, to be fair.
“I want the best for him, genuinely, and when you are challenging someone like this, something comes in between that.
“So it’s a strange feeling, it is what it is, and that’s our challenge.”