Pep Guardiola was given the platform to engage in pre-match mind games with rival coach Mikel Arteta ahead of Manchester City’s meeting with Arsenal in the English League Cup final on Sunday.
He didn’t bite.
“Look what’s happened around the world,” Guardiola said Friday. “We have an incredible chaos and nobody moves one finger. Everything is behind the scenes. The world is going to collapse and still we are here talking about dark arts.”
Guardiola’s reference to “dark arts” recalled a flashpoint between the teams that reared up after a Premier League match in September 2024, when Arsenal’s tactics drew criticism from a number of City players following a 2-2 draw.
Midfielder Bernardo Silva said Arsenal’s players pushed “the limits of what was possible to do.” Defender John Stones said they “break up the game which upsets the rhythm.” It was full back Kyle Walker, no longer at City, who described Arsenal’s perceived tactics as “dark arts.”
Those comments prompted Arteta to respond rather cryptically, saying he has “all the information” about City owing to his time there as an assistant to Guardiola from 2016-19.
Guardiola in turn called on Arteta to be “more clear exactly what does he mean.”
A year and a half later, Guardiola wasn’t in the mood to reignite that argument.
“There are officials to deal with these kind of things,” he said.
Indeed, the City manager praised the evolution and “solidarity” of Arsenal, which is in contention to win four trophies this season as the Premier League leader by nine points and having advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League and FA Cup.
“Exceptional team,” he said. “It’s a big challenge for us to see how our level is.”
Arteta said his relationship with Guardiola “had to” change because they are in charge of teams who have become big rivals.
“But what I feel about him and the time that we had together and what he did for me — the inspiration he has been since I was little — that is never going to change,” Arteta said.
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