Pep Guardiola will face his former assistant coach Mikel Arteta as the two sides prepare to face one another in FA Cup semi-final.
Mikel left Manchester City to take over the helm at Arsenal in December and is already seeing his style of play translated at the Emirates and Pep believes Arteta is creating something unique at Arsenal.
The Gunners beat champions Liverpool this week to help the Cityzens preserve their 100-point record – something the Blues from Manchester achieved in 2017/18 when Arteta was the second seat at Etihad.
Guardiola was quizzed about if his side will approach the Arsenal game in a different way acknowledging the fact that Mikel knows them better than anyone out there.
“No, we approach them the same,” Guardiola said in his pre-match virtual press conference. “It’s one of the elite clubs in English football for the last 20 or 30 years, I’m pretty sure the right person to bring them back is in. When the club support him they have the right man, I’ve a feeling he is creating something unique, if they give him what he needs they’ll be a contender in future years.
“I said before no semi-final is easy never. Always tight, we lost semi-finals in my first year here. And the players know it will be so tight. I’ve the same opinion of Arsenal and Mikel, my opinion didn’t change when they beat Liverpool or lost to Brighton, not for one second. But it’s an incredible opportunity to get to a final for us.”
Manchester City will return to Wembley not losing at the stadium since Arsenal beat them in 2017 FA Cup semi final and Pep is vary about the tough fixture that lies against Arteta & Co.
Pep added: “It shows the team likes and enjoys playing the finals. Wembley is an incredible place to place, for anyone and the players know the challenges they have.
“Against one team. It’s not easy against Liverpool but they were incredibly focused for the 90 minutes.”
