Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta said his friendship with Pep Guardiola remains rock solid despite their bitter rivalry in the English Premier League.
City, for two seasons have prevented Arsenal from winning their first title in 25 years. City have won four straight titles under Guardiola and are looking for their fifth. Guardiola has acknowledged that Arsenal are the only team that can stop them.
“I love him, I respect him, I admire him, and I admire his team and everything that he does,” said Arteta ahead of Arsenal game against Leicester City on Saturday.
“This is sport. One thing is our profession, another is our personal relationship.
“If our relationship was damaged because one draws and the other one wins or the number of times that they’ve beaten us, I would not talk to him anymore.
“So that’s not our relationship, especially the relationship that I consider both of us have. In sport it will never get in my way, a personal relationship, that’s for sure.
“If you don’t like opinions then you shouldn’t be sitting in the position that I am. It’s quite simple. Don’t take it personally. It’s part of our job.
“The things that you really care about, make sure you handle them in the right way. That relationship I really care about.”
John Stones scored in the 98th minute to deny Arsenal a win in last Sunday’s Premier League tie.
“I did what I believed was the right thing to be as competitive as possible to win the game,” said Arteta when asked about his defensive tactics.
“So, we get negative criticism – where we are, after what we’ve been through in the last three games. That tells you the expectations.
“We have to raise the level, that’s it. I want (to win on Saturday) because I want to play well, and deserve the three points, not to silence anybody. And to make our people proud. That’s it.”
