Mikel Arteta's 'sad' reason for quitting club to take on new adventure

Mikel Arteta has carried out what can only be described as a full-scale revolution at . Tuesday night’s 3-0 demolition of reigning European champions was the greatest night in the club’s modern history.

It displayed just how, in the five-and-a-half years since Arteta’s appointment as the Gunners’ fresh-faced head coach, he has taken an ailing football club to the very summit of European football with Champions League quarter-final appearances in consecutive seasons.

The Spaniard’s widespread changes since his return to the Emirates Stadium in December 2019 have been felt from top to bottom, from his revolutionary tactics and the use of modern in training sessions, to instilling a winning mentality in a variety of creative ways.

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But Arteta also owes a great deal to and , under whom he became the mastermind tactician he is today. The 43-year-old was appointed as an assistant coach at City by his former idol at , Guardiola, where he increasingly impressed the legendary manager with his tactical advice.

His growing role saw him help the club to two triumphs, an win and two EFL Cups, before being linked with his former club – the Gunners. After ’s unsuccessful tenure and eventual sacking, Arteta agreed to take over in N5 midway through the 2019/20 season.

The rest, as they say, is history, with Arteta’s Arsenal becoming one of City’s biggest domestic rivals over the past three seasons and surpassing them this term. Yet, Arteta revealed back when he first took the Gunners job that he was “sad” to have left City so abruptly.

"Listen, the relationship between me and Pep is incredibly good," said the former midfielder back in 2020. “Obviously he was sad and the timing wasn't the best for him but he understood. He knows how I've been growing and the needs that I have emotionally, the ambitions that I had, and he kept giving me more and more and more over the years.

"If I had admiration for him before, after working with him I cannot explain how much of a nice person he is and what a professional he is. The way he reacted with me looking at my eyes, he knew that I was suffering because I was leaving in a moment where they need me a little bit as well, so I felt in that sense a little bit sad.

"But he's been so supportive, the same as Txiki [Begiristain], as Ferran [Soriano Compte] and Khaldoon [Al Mubarak] – I was on the phone with him yesterday.

"The terms that we left the relationship in, they could not be any better. I said goodbye to all the staff at the training ground yesterday, all the players, I cried because they've been my family for three and a half years and we've had incredible moments."

In the years since those comments, Arteta and Guardiola’s sides have enjoyed heated fixtures as Arsenal have become a serious force in the Premier League, with City striker most notably telling the former to “stay humble” after a 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium in September.

But the two La Masia graduates maintain a close bond, with Arteta even revealing that he received tips from Guardiola on how to defeat Real Madrid prior to this week’s clash.

“I have learned a lot from him,” Arteta admitted. “From professional and personal situations. In the last few days, we’ve talked, because I felt like talking to him. And I think he also wanted to talk to me because he is very happy about the good things that happen to us.

“Learning from the best and those who have had experiences, I think it’s a thing smart people do. And I have been very lucky to have very good people who have helped me a lot.”

Guardiola echoed that sentiment ahead of their February clash, which ended 5-1 in Arsenal’s favour, describing their relationship as “exceptional”. He continued: "With him and his family. We're not in touch much because we have business but the respect that we have is always there."

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