Manchester City news: Guardiola delivers verdict on Arteta future
Pep Guardiola has backed assistant Mikel Arteta to succeed him as Manchester City manager when he eventually steps down.
The Catalan’s contract runs until the end of next season and he has repeatedly expressed his intention to remain in management once his time at the Etihad is up.
Could Arteta succeed Guardiola? Five things to know…
- Guardiola has won five major trophies with City in his past two seasons.
- But his contract expires next year and he has expressed a desire to continue in management.
- Arteta has often been tipped as Guardiola’s potential successor.
- The Spaniard was pipped to the Arsenal job by Unai Emery last summer.
- Guardiola says Arteta is “already an incredible manager” set for a big future.
Arteta was thought to be one of the frontrunners for the vacant Arsenal job last summer but was eventually beaten to the post by Unai Emery.
But when asked if he believes Arteta could succeed him in the Man City dugout, Guardiola was lavish in his praise.
“I’m pretty sure, yes. He will have success, yes,” Guardiola said.
“Sooner or later it’s going to happen. He’s a young, young manager, he’s 37, 38, he’s so young, he has experience already to handle big players and teams and when it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen.”
Arteta was a friend of Guardiola’s during their time together at Barcelona, where both graduated from the club’s esteemed La Masia academy.
The former Everton and Arsenal midfielder was enlisted to Guardiola’s staff at Man City thanks to his extensive knowledge and experience of the Premier League.
This, coupled with his “incredible work rate”, is why Guardiola believes Arteta is the ideal candidate for management.
The City manager added: “He has an incredible work ethic, and he has a special talent to analyse what happens, and to find the solutions. We talk a lot about what he believes and feels. He helped me a lot.
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“Especially in the first year, he knew the Premier League like, for example, in games against Stoke or whatever. He can tell me the players we will face better than myself because he played against them and was in the Premier League for 10 or 11 years, that’s a long time and that is why he helped me a lot and he still helps me.
“He’s so happy when we win, but suffers when we don’t and that is why he tries to find a solution. He’s an incredible human being, with incredible values about what it means in the locker room and to be together.
“He is already an incredible manager and he’ll have incredible success in his future.”
