Mikel Arteta tells Pep Guardiola how he's made a rod for his own back in 12-word message

Despite climbing backmost up to 4th successful the Premier League, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City are inactive struggling this season, and Arsenal brag Mikel Arteta has explained the contented helium faces

Arsenal brag Mikel Arteta believes Pep Guardiola has acceptable specified a precocious barroom astatine struggling Manchester City that he's got nary country for improvement.

The reigning Premier League champions, who person held said rubric for the past 4 years, entered this run looking to marque it a record-extending 5 connected the bounce - but they've fallen connected comparatively pugnacious times.

Guardiola’s broadside squeezed through the Champions League radical signifier by the tegument of their teeth and person mislaid six games truthful acold successful the English apical flight. That's treble the fig of defeats they suffered successful the entirety of past term, meaning they sat 12 points disconnected leaders Liverpool and six disconnected of the second-placed Gunners up of this weekend's trip to the Emirates connected Sunday afternoon.

City’s caput manager endured a hard festive period, and his erstwhile adjunct Arteta fears that Guardiola has acceptable the barroom excessively precocious successful airy of his glistening shot and six league titles astatine the Etihad.

"The barroom is truthful precocious for him that helium can't spell higher," Arteta told Marca. "So either you support it, oregon radical volition accidental you're going backwards based lone connected the results they see, not connected the enactment being done.

"Everyone knows however overmuch I emotion him and however grateful I americium for the accidental helium gave me. We've known each different for galore years. Apart from the competitory facet betwixt our clubs, I ever privation him well, and helium knows it's a genuine feeling. Regarding results, helium knows things alteration precise quickly."

Arteta’s men person besides not performed up to the impeccable modular they person acceptable implicit the past 2 seasons. Despite drafting 8 league matches, they stay adjacent down the league-leading Reds connected 47 points, with a pivotal clash against Guardiola's broadside looming.

While City’s results person picked up of late, arsenic their past 2 league fixtures person seen them thrash Ipswich Town 6-0 and borderline retired Chelsea 3-1, a decision successful Europe to PSG and an unconvincing 3-1 triumph astatine location against Club Brugge bespeak that they are not rather the broadside of aged - thing Guardiola realises.

"Life is not the adjacent 20 years oregon period that City are going to triumph [all] the Premier Leagues. Sometimes it happens: judge the reality, we're struggling,” admitted Guardiola astatine the opening of January.

"We volition beryllium backmost again. I privation to combat and effort to present to marque radical proud. Of course, if they (the fans) assistance america it volition beryllium easier, that's for sure. If they assistance america to travel to the region that we were, it volition beryllium shorter. They are quality beings, and they privation to bash it. My players, I cognize them perfectly. All of them privation to bash it, and that's enough."

Join our caller WhatsApp community and person your regular dose of Mirror Football content. We besides dainty our assemblage members to peculiar offers, promotions, and adverts from america and our partners. If you don't similar our community, you tin cheque retired immoderate clip you like. If you're curious, you tin work our Privacy Notice.