Arsenal are set to travel to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday to face Man City in an important game at the top of the Premier League.
This will see Mikel Arteta return to the club where he spent over three years as an assistant coach to Pep Guardiola, during which time City evolved into arguably the best team in Europe.
Arteta previously held an excellent relationship with Guardiola, but since becoming Arsenal manager he has since turned the Gunners into title competitors, and he is now rivals with his old friend.
The Arsenal boss has now admitted that his relationship with Guardiola has changed as a result, but ahead of the monumental clash between the two sides, he has claimed that his former mentor is the best manager in the world.
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Mikel Arteta claims Pep Guardiola is the best coach in the World ahead of Man City vs Arsenal
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Arteta claimed that Guardiola, who won the treble with Man City last season, is significantly ahead of any other coach right now.
“It (their relationship) had to change, but my admiration and what I feel for him, certainly not,” he stated.
“In my opinion, he is the best coach in the world by a mile and is one of the nicest people that I have met in football, certainly one of the ones that I have had more fun and a laugh working with, and that’s going to stay there forever.
“Obviously our roles at the moment are what they are and you have to adapt to the situation. It is what it is, but that happens the same in relationships with players.
“I had some teammates here and then you become the coach and that relationship has to adapt. You cannot feel differently about the person but professionally you have to act differently.”
Mikel Arteta’s relationship with Pep Guardiola
Arteta’s relationship with Guardiola goes back a long way, which is why the former Barcelona coach recruited the former Arsenal midfielder as his assistant as soon as he retired from football in 2016.
Both were central midfielders during their playing days, and both came through the La Masia academy at Barcelona.
“The opportunity to join Pep Guardiola and his team was an amazing opportunity for me and I am incredibly excited for the future,” Arteta stated upon his arrival at City in 2016.
Guardiola’s playing peak was a few years before Arteta, but the midfielder followed his path straight into coaching after his playing days, and comparisons have constantly been drawn between the pair for the innovative ways in which they see the game.