Pep and Mikel have been friends since the 1990s, and the turning point in their relationship was the Champions League semi-final between Barcelona and Chelsea.
To Beat Arsenal, Guardiola Made Arteta Head Coach for One Week
Guardiola values character and intelligence in people, so he always surrounds himself with like-minded people who have their views on everything. “A clever man won’t ask for opinions from the chums,” Pep philosophises. The Manchester City boss is also used to believing in both players and coaching staff – when he brought Arteta to City in 2016, he was 100 per cent confident in him. This was just two months after Mikel had finished his career as a player at Arsenal.
Shortly after Arteta arrived at the Emirates, Guardiola’s team faced a game against the Gunners, and Pep took a certain amount of risk. He called his new assistant into his office and said: “You will lead the team in this match. I believe that you can do it – everything depends on you. Do whatever you think is right.” The head coach realised Mikel knew the London team better than him, as he had only recently been on the pitch with these players. The City players were a bit taken aback when Pep said: “Arteta is in charge this week.” But everything worked out wonderfully – the Citizens won the game 2-1.
Pep Consulted with Mikel Before the Champions League Semi-Final with Chelsea in 2012
Pep has known Arteta since the young Mikel took his first steps in Barcelona’s academy, and Guardiola was captain of the team at the time. The current Arsenal coach remembers his debut for Barça for life because he replaced Pep in one of the friendly games at 16. “I played alongside Rivaldo, Figo, Kluivert, Luis Enrique, all the superstars. But my main hero was Guardiola – because of the cool game and amazing human qualities. He helped me a lot in my transition from youth football to adult football,” admitted Mikel. The young midfielder did not wait a few years for a chance to break into the main squad of his hometown team – and left for PSG.
Although the players’ paths diverged, they kept in touch. Guardiola liked British football, so he often called his fellow countryman, who first played for Rangers and then Everton and Arsenal and asked about his impressions. Once, Pep needed concrete help from Arteta. In 2012, Barcelona played with Chelsea in the semi-finals of the Champions League, and the coach of the Catalans asked Mikel about the weaknesses of the Londoners. Guardiola did not expect to hear from Arteta such a detailed and in-depth answer with tactical subtleties and game characteristics of the Blues – then they talked for more than an hour.
The fate of that epic encounter was primarily decided by Lionel Messi’s unrealised penalty in the return leg, and Barça lost to the future trophy winner. But Guardiola was still impressed – after that, he and Arteta exchanged ideas more often. Three years later, Pep and Mikel crossed paths in a Champions League match when Mikel’s Arsenal defeated Guardiola’s Bayern Munich 1-5. After the game, the coach chatted with the midfielder in the back room and admitted to Arteta that he would like to manage an English team one day. And what happened next is history.