Mikel Arteta ignored a warning from Pep Guardiola before signing his first Arsenal manager's contract. After retiring from playing in 2016, Arteta joined Manchester City as a coach, working under his countryman.
He spent three years at the Etihad, a period which saw City win the Premier League twice, two Carabao Cups and an FA Cup. However, he couldn't resist the urge to be the main man, rejoining the club where he ended his playing career.
Guardiola's warning before Arteta's Arsenal move
The Gunners were in the doldrums at the time, languishing in 10th in the table, following Unai Emery's ill-fated reign and Freddie Ljungberg's five-match stint as interim boss. With Arteta on the verge of joining Arsenal in 2019, Guardiola sent him a note of caution, citing the club's fall from grace.
Guardiola said: "I think Arsenal [are] always one of the best teams of the last 20 years. When Arsene [Wenger] took over the team, he raised the club to another level and now they are struggling a little bit the last years.
"When the club takes a decision to replace the manager or buy players, it's always to rise to be better. Whether it's going to happen or not, I don't know. You know my opinion about Mikel. He's a professional human being and a person, I don't have doubts about that."
Arteta's decision vindicated with title triumph
However, it proved a wise decision, as Arteta turned the club's fortunes around and after a string of near misses, he eventually led the Gunners to the Premier League title.
As a reward, the Spaniard has penned a lucrative new contract with the club, while Guardiola is taking a break from the game after leaving City at the end of last season. He appears to have picked a good time to leave after City were found guilty of breaching 114 Premier League rules, which has raised question marks over his 10-year reign at the club.
Despite growing rivalry between Arsenal and City in recent years, the respect between the pair has remained strong. Speaking ahead of an FA Cup meeting between the sides in 2023, Arteta said of going up against his friend: "It's a strange feeling. I want the best for him, genuinely, and when you are challenging with someone like this, something comes in between that.
"That's not going to change any friendship, the moments that we have, how important he is in my life, how important he is in my profession.
"We're both willing to win and defend our clubs in any way and that’s always been the case since day one. I would prefer to do it with someone else to be fair."
Reflecting on working with Arteta, Guardiola said: "I don't know what my part on him was, but his influence on me was great, was massive, was so important to become a better, better manager."
