Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta's relationship has cut across a range of strands over the years - and evolved along with their managerial styles. The pair go head to head at Etihad Stadium on Sunday in a match many have billed as a Premier League title decider. A win for Guardiola and second-placed Manchester City would cut the lead of Arteta's Arsenal side to just three points, with a game in hand.
The Spaniards' relationship started in 1997 when Arteta joined Barcelona's academy - meeting his idol, Barca skipper and fellow midfielder Guardiola. Their time as team-mates was brief, but a friendship was forged. Communication between the two managers cooled significantly when Arteta gave up his role as Guardiola's assistant in Manchester back in 2019 to take charge of Arsenal.
While the City boss' other former assistants maintained closer contact, Arteta stepped away - and that distance created silence. Guardiola appreciates those that give and take continuously, but if that is not clearly expressed, relationships can fracture even without a clear conflict. Arteta is someone who moves forward without being dependent on past professional bonds.
Contact was eventually re-established in the past year and tensions eased. Nobody wants to say who made the first call, but they speak again. They are now competing for the same trophies but, at the same time, recognise the strength of the friendship, and both suffer in that solitary place that is managing a football team at the very top.
Guardiola says he enjoys watching Arsenal play How do you hold your nerve in a title race? There was a time when Spanish football on Sunday evenings became a kind of ritual for coaches across Europe when the Guardiola-led Barcelona were in action. For 90 minutes everyone tried to understand what they were watching.
Liverpool-born Andy Mangan, opposition scout for Brazil this summer, remembers it as an education. "At first I didn't understand what he was doing," said Mangan. "But every week he would identify a space to attack, and every Sunday you watched those players play with joy.
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