Guardiola Declares "War" on Arteta
Pep Guardiola, manager of Manchester City, stated that what exists now between Arsenal and City is "a war," urging Mikel Arteta to clarify his comments regarding his team that could be related to the 115 financial irregularities case.
The Basque coach, who was Guardiola's assistant at City until 2019, was accused of using "dark arts" during last Sunday’s match to waste time and disrupt the game, and in the subsequent press conference, he hinted that City might have done something similar.
"I was there for four years. I have all the information, so believe me," Arteta said.
In a press conference on Friday, Guardiola asked Arteta to clarify his words, implying that he knows things about the 115 financial irregularities that the Premier League is accusing City of.
"Next time Mikel has to be clearer. He has to be more specific about what he means, about being here for four years and knowing exactly what happened. Because it could be related to the process of the 115 charges. He may have information, I don't know," Guardiola pointed out.
Regarding the rivalry between City and Arsenal, Guardiola said: "Do you want a war? Here you have a war," referring to Gabriel Magalhaes' comments after the match.
"It's a battle, a war, so it's normal to have provocations in football; it's part of the game. Now this is over, and we welcome them to our ground," the Brazilian defender stated.
"Gabriel said it perfectly; this is now a war. We have to provoke the opponent to pressure them, and what are you going to do? If you provoke me, here I am," Guardiola responded.