Pep Guardiola issues playful dig at Arsenal and Liverpool’s transfer spending in Premier League title context | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has playfully hit back at the spending statistics of Premier League title rivals Arsenal and Liverpool.

The City boss was quizzed on the subject of transfer budgets during his media duties before Sunday’s clash with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, commenting ahead of the contest after a 2-0 win against Napoli.

The subject arrives amid ongoing public respect between Guardiola and Mikel Arteta, with the Catalan coach describing Arsenal as “one of the toughest opponents you can find right now in Europe”, although his latest comments carry a more tongue-in-cheek edge.

City are often the subject of scrutiny when it comes to financial matters, despite a series of rival clubs also investing heavily across recent windows, and very few garnering the sort of silverware success that the Etihad Stadium has witnessed over that period.

Guardiola has repeatedly defended the way his club operates, pointing towards the scale of spending from other Premier League giants, including Liverpool’s rebuild under Arne Slot off the back of Jurgen Klopp’s reign, and Arsenal’s incremental strengthening under Arteta.

The remarks also come against a backdrop of tight competition at the top of the table with City battling for points, and injuries to key players such as Rayan Cherki and Omar Marmoush forcing Guardiola into rotation.

Speaking during his pre-match press conference ahead of his side’s visit to the Emirates Stadium this weekend, Pep Guardiola was quizzed on the transfer spend of Mikel Arteta and Arsenal in the most recent market, but across previous windows as a whole.

“It is what it is; they decided to do it,” Guardiola responded, before issuing a playful joke about critics of Manchester City’s transfer spending in comparison to Arsenal and Liverpool’s outlay in markets.

“Only I want to say to my friend, Mikel Arteta, if he wins the title it will just be because of spending, not because he worked a lot. Like Liverpool! If Arne [Slot] wins again, it will be because he spent a lot of money, right? Because it’s not just Man City that it’s happened right? So, all of them,” Guardiola added.

Clarifying the joking nature of his comments, the 54-year-old continued on Mikel Arteta and Arsenal’s spending, “Listen, for many, many years, every club can do whatever he wants! You know? I know how we have been treated is completely different, but what he wants to spend is because he wants it, and it’s fine!

“Then only thing I can say is they have been wise, they spent what they believe they can do, to compete against the best teams in the Premier League, in Europe, and they reached that level.

“So he found a team in that way, a club, and step by step, window by window, step by step, Arsenal is getting better.”

Pep Guardiola’s words will no doubt resonate across the Premier League, where narratives around financial resources often dominate discussions of success, while his willingness to inject humour into the debate reflects his respect for Arsenal’s progression.

Attention now turns to how this weekend’s clash might underline those very spending differences on the pitch, with Arsenal having invested in depth and star quality in recent windows, while Manchester City’s squad continues to blend long-serving experience with younger additions.

With Manchester City seeking to sustain momentum following wins over Manchester United and Napoli, the Emirates showdown could again play a decisive role in shaping the Premier League title race later on down the line.