Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta “will always be grateful” to Pep Guardiola for the time they spent together at Manchester City.
Arteta was Guardiola’s assistant for three years before taking the top job at Arsenal in 2019.
The duo now find themselves going head-to-head at the top of the Premier League, with the Gunners leading the way, one place ahead of chasing champions City.
Arsenal travel to Southampton on Sunday looking to restore their four-point advantage following City’s 3-1 win against Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday.
Speaking ahead of the game at St Mary’s, Arteta expressed his gratitude for his time at City and the things he learned working under Guardiola.
“I learned a lot about being at the top from Pep,” he said. “The standards that are set at the club are not only to win, but to win in a certain way every three days, and be extremely demanding and critical, and at the same time supportive, so it’s a good mixture.
“It was incredible to be part of that team and the evolution and how that team was built. I will always be grateful.”
The Spanish pair still speak regularly, but Arteta revealed: “Obviously we are not going to be talking about things related to our teams but of course we can speak about football as we did in the past and that’s not going to change.”
Arsenal have surprised many with their impressive start to the campaign, following up throwing away Champions League qualification at the end of last season to start this one with nine wins from 10 Premier League games.
They head to the south coast having won their last eight in all competitions, and Arteta explained how he manages to stay relaxed about everything.
“First of all, I try to sleep well. Rest is really important,” he said. “I try to look after my diet as much as I can. I don’t exercise as much as I should do, I have to be very critical of myself in that sense.