Mikel Arteta was Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Man City, but has pipped his former tutor to the Premier League title.Published On 19 May 202619 May 2026Mikel Arteta has silenced his doubters by awakening the sleeping giant Arsenal, restoring the Gunners to the top of English football.Twenty-two years on from Arsene Wenger’s “Invincibles”, Arsenal have finally got over the line to vindicate the Arteta project, which began with his appointment in 2019.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listArsenal gambled on their former club captain six-and-a-half years ago, even though he had no previous managerial experience.But Arteta was blessed with arguably the best apprenticeship, working alongside his longtime mentor-turned-title rival Pep Guardiola.When Guardiola arrived at Manchester City a decade ago, he sought out Arteta’s experience of the English game and someone he knew from their playing days together at Barcelona.“As a player and as a coach, he’s been an inspiration for me, and he’s the person who decided to bet on me, to include me as a second coach,” Arteta said of Guardiola last year.“I’ll always be grateful to him; otherwise I wouldn’t be here.”Yet, in stark contrast to many other modern coaches, Arteta has not followed the Guardiola approach in building a side that has pipped his former boss to the title.Arteta never quite made the grade at Barcelona, but the influences on his playing career have moulded his outlook as a manager.After brief spells at Paris Saint-Germain and Rangers, Arteta finally found a home at Everton under David Moyes.“I learned from him, on the field and off the field, about building a team and getting the right chara …
