Published 15:52 IST, December 18th 2019
Pep Guardiola on Arteta: 'He’s an adult, he knows exactly what he has to do'
Pep Guardiola admitted that Arsenal are in talks with Mikel Arteta for the role of Arsenal's head coach and said that he was aware of the meeting.
Pep Guardiola admitted that Arsenal are in talks with his assistant coach Mikel Arteta for the role of Arsenal's head coach. In the pre-Carabao cup press conference, the Spaniard said that the talks were on, but did not reveal anything more about changes to his own backroom staff.
Guardiola was asked about what makes Arteta such a sought-after coach, and he said, "I’ve said many times, he’s an incredible person, a good manager, work ethic."
'He is an adult'
Guardiola admitted to knowing about the meeting he had with senior Arsenal executives after the Manchester City match on Sunday and when asked if were to give any advice to him, he said, "Nothing, he’s an adult, he knows exactly what he has to do. ‘He was incredibly transparent and honest with me."
When asked about the future of his backroom staff, Guardiola said, "The organization of the club is always live, it doesn’t always stay the same, what works today might not work tomorrow. The people today maybe won’t be here tomorrow. Now he’s part of our group and staff and he stays here. When we have any new news I’ll know, you’ll know and we’ll see what happens. Now he is here travelling with us. He was part of the training session and he’ll travel tomorrow.”
Goal.com quoted Pep saying, "When the club takes a decision to replace the manager or buy players it's always to rise to be better. Whether it's going to happen or not, I don't know. You know my opinion about Mikel. He's a professional human being and a person, I don't have doubts about that."
Guardiola was also asked about drawing Real Madrid in the CL Round of 16 and he said, "I dreamed as a player to play with him. It didn't happen. I didn't speak much with him - maybe three or four times - but my impression he is an incredible person. I admire him, it’s really good to have this kind of person. It will be a pleasure to see him again. (Real Madrid) Is an incredible test for us. We will prepare as good as possible. We have to see in February what our condition is and what Madrid’s condition is. We try and play a good two legs."
Updated 20:54 IST, December 18th 2019