Mikel Arteta breaks silence on Pep Guardiola jibe on Arsenal’s transfer window dealings | OneFootball

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has responded to Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola after the latter’s comments on the Gunners’ transfers in September.

Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw by the north Londoners at the Emirates Stadium in September as Gabriel Martinelli’s last-gasp chip over Gianluigi Donnarumma salvaged a deserving point for Arteta and co.

City started the game on the back foot but broke the deadlock against the run of play when man-of-the-moment Erling Haaland launched and finished a devastating counter attack within 10 minutes to silence the Emirates Stadium.

However, Arsenal did not sit back and terrorised the visitors with wave after wave of attacks – which forced Manchester City’s hand into parking the bus and setting up in an uncharacteristically conservative way to defend their slim advantage against a side that were clearly better than the Blues on the day.

City drew a mix of huge criticism and plaudits for their Jose Mourinho-esque approach to the 80 minutes of their play after taking the lead against Arsenal in September, with many questioning why Guardiola instructed his players to hold the fort.

However, City were commended for their near-perfect gameplan despite Martinelli’s injury-time leveller, particularly with the added context that Arsenal was the Blues’ third game in the space of seven days – off the back of wins over Manchester United and Napoli.

Guardiola conceded that Arsenal was by far the better team when quizzed on Manchester City’s defensive approach for an overwhelming majority of the draw – an approach that has since been questioned by England international John Stones.

When commenting on Arsenal’s prowess and prospects in this season’s title race, Guardiola referenced the investment made by the north Londoners in their squad in the recent transfer windows – alongside the moves made by reigning champions Liverpool in the market.

In an interview with Marca this week, Arteta – who served as Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City between 2016 and 2019 – was asked to reflect on his good friend’s comments on Arsenal’s spending in the transfer market.

“There’s a backstory to that (Guardiola’s comments) and it comes from the number of questions he’s asked about it. And it’s normal that he had that reaction,” Arteta said in a measured and respectful tone, as relayed by Sport Witness.

“I have a specific opinion about why a team might have more or less chances of winning, and I don’t think it’s just because of the spending on signings, but because of other things. I’m not just saying that; the history of football tells you this with many examples.”

Arsenal sit three points clear at the top of the Premier League table after eight games and second-placed Manchester City can keep up the pressure on the Gunners with three points against Aston Villa on Sunday.