Mikel Arteta shares details on Pep Guardiola phone call after Man City clinched title
Mikel Arteta revealed that he phoned Pep Guardiola to offer his congratulations on Manchester City’s title victory, following Arsenal’s loss to Nottingham Forest.
The defeat by a score of 1-0 resulted in City being able to claim the Premier League trophy in front of their supporters at the Etihad on Sunday, having previously secured a 1-0 victory over Chelsea.
Arsenal had been leading the league for a significant portion of the season, but a series of setbacks towards the end, including the 4-1 defeat to City, enabled Chelsea to catch up and overtake them.
However, Mikel Arteta did not dwell on the disappointment. Instead, the former Manchester City assistant reached out to his close friend, Pep Guardiola, to express admiration and praise for his remarkable accomplishment.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said regarding Guardiola: “I called him to congratulate him and the staff because people may think things that happen are granted for them.
“They have to work so hard and all the hours they put in, how much they suffer and how much they have to think and think… and try to always promote that winning mentality that they are doing.
“Then at the end, you have to say congratulations, this is sport. He’s a really good friend of mine. I not only respect him but I admire him as a person, as a professional.
“So when you are in reach, you have to take all of the positive things that we’ve done in the season and how far we’ve come, and some (lessons) for sure to be better.”
Arteta admitted that he did witness Manchester City’s trophy celebration, reminiscing about his own experience of lifting the trophy during his final season at the Etihad.
He acknowledged the “mistakes” made by Arsenal during the crucial period leading up to the end of the season. He also highlighted the significant contrast in consistency between Arsenal and Manchester City, recognizing that City’s ability to maintain a high level of performance throughout the campaign made a notable difference.
“They deserve it as simple as that. 38 games – it doesn’t lie,” Arteta said. “We have some regrets against Liverpool, 2-0 up, West Ham and the penalty, against Southampton the mistakes that we made and it was 3-3.
“Even if we had won all those games, it wasn’t enough. And this is the level. Everything has to be perfect, there are no margins for error.
“Everything has to go your way for 10-and-a-half months and we had some bumps in the road for the last final part and made some mistakes that were critical not to reach that level.”
Mikel Arteta shares details on Pep Guardiola phone call after Man City clinched title