Ruud Gullit has stated that Mikel Arteta "stole" Pep Guardiola's system, which has been instrumental in his success at Arsenal. The Gunners manager beat his former Manchester City colleague to the Premier League title this season.
Guardiola's Impact on Arteta
It has now been confirmed that City boss Guardiola will leave the club when the campaign concludes after a trophy-laden decade at the helm. The 55-year-old picked up 17 major trophies during his tenure, including six league crowns. Though he will not be in an English dugout next season, his influence on the game will persist, as ex-Chelsea star Gullit claims many managers, including the top-flight-winning Arteta, have copied Guardiola's methods.
Speaking to MrRaffle.com, Gullit said: "You have to give Pep credit. He created a whole new team and it went through ups and downs, but he's still competing for the title. He's right there. He's a fantastic coach. And the funniest thing is, everyone who stole Pep's ideas is doing well. Mikel Arteta stole everything from him. He instilled that build-up-from-the-back philosophy; that's how he won everything."
Gullit's Warning on Imitation
Gullit added: "But then people try to mimic it with players who can't do it. How many defenders did Pep buy specifically to play that way? A lot. So if you don't have those players, don't do it. Every time I see clubs say, 'This is our philosophy' - no, this was Pep's philosophy. And every time I see teams trying to play out from the back, at the most vital moments of the season, they're losing points because of it."
City won the FA Cup earlier this month. Speaking to Sky Sports in 2023, Guardiola opened up about his tactical vision, admitting that his methods are evergreen. He said: "I am pretty sure what worked 20 or 30 years ago playing that way would work today. Not because Arsenal or Barcelona is doing that. Football is football since it was created. The lines are the same. The pitch is the same. It is not 14 against 14, it is 11 against 11. It is how well you read the situations."
Arteta was an assistant to Guardiola at City before taking the Arsenal job. Guardiola continued: "The passes are always possible to do, all the time. That is 100 per cent. Afterwards, it is the quality of the players that we have up front, many other aspects, but to play football like they played in the '70s with Brazil, or in the '80s or the '90s, you can do it, of course. It depends on the feelings of the managers. The way your team want to play. It is as simple as that. In 20 years, if there are managers who like the way that Arsenal or Barcelona or Man City are playing, their team will play in that way."
