After making the switch from Manchester City to the Gunners, the 37-year-old has explained how the City boss has prepared him for the role
Arsenal’s new boss Mikel Arteta has claimed being ruthless and consistent is what has made Pep Guardiola such a successful manager.
Arteta was announced as Arsenal’s new permanent head coach on Friday, with Freddie Ljungberg having been in interim charge since Unai Emery was sacked in November.
He joins the Gunners after assisting Guardiola at City since 2016, winning two Premier League titles, two EFL Cups and the FA Cup during his time in Manchester.
Arteta, who came close to taking over at Arsenal in 2018 before Emery succeeded Arsene Wenger, plans to champion some of Guardiola’s best qualities as he looks to revitalise fortunes at Emirates Stadium.
“What I’ve learned mostly is you have to be ruthless, consistent and fit every day the culture of the club to have a winning mentality,” Arteta, who will officially take charge of the Gunners after Saturday’s game at Everton, told a news conference.
“To sustain it is even harder, so every day is important, every act is important, every word of the organisation is important.
“[Pep’s] work rate is incredible. How inspirational he is to people is incredible, but to me the secret is the players and staff have to believe what you deliver. You have to be able to transmit it and then people will buy into that.
“When you do that, you have a team, everyone is united, and we will be strong.”
The former midfielder insists his relationship with Guardiola and City remains intact, even though the timing of his departure could prove troublesome.
“The relationship between him and me is incredibly good. Obviously, he was sad, the timing wasn’t the best for him, but he understood,” Arteta said.
“He knows how I’ve been growing and the needs that I had, emotionally, the ambitions that I had. If I had admiration for him before, after working with him, I could not explain how much of a nice person he is and what a professional he is.
“The way he reacted, he knew that I was suffering, because I was in a moment where [City] needed me as well, so I felt in that sense sad, but he has been so supportive.
“The relationship could not be any better. I said goodbye yesterday to all the staff, the players. I cried, because they’ve been my family for three and a half years, and we had incredible moments.
“We had a dream to do something in England with Pep that people said was impossible. ‘The Premier League, you will get bullied’. We did it, in the way we wanted. It was so fulfilling, to share that moment of our lives.”