Mikel Arteta reacts to Premier League charges brought against his former club Manchester City
Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal, claims he witnessed nothing improper during his time as Pep Guardiola’s right-hand man at Manchester City.
Arteta is currently competing against his former manager for the Premier League title, with the Gunners currently leading the Blues by five points with a game in hand.
On Wednesday, the two clubs will meet for the first time in the league this season in a pivotal matchup at the Emirates.
City, who faces Aston Villa on Sunday, enters the match amidst allegations of financial wrongdoing by the Premier League.
Arteta served as a member of Guardiola’s coaching staff from 2016 to 2019, and he was asked during Friday’s press conference for Arsenal if he had ever witnessed financial misdeeds during his time at City.
“I am not going to make any comment on that [the charges], I’m sorry,” he said.
When asked for a second time about the allegations, he underlined: “I can’t respond to that question because then I’ll be responding to the previous question and I don’t want to do that, I’m sorry.” When asked if he ever saw anything untoward while at the club, he replied: “No.”
Guardiola, meanwhile, defended City vehemently and claimed that many had already rendered a guilty verdict against the club before they had a chance to defend themselves.
“We are lucky we live in a marvellous country that have a society where everyone is innocent until proven guilty,” he said. “We didn’t have this opportunity. We are already sentenced.
“I would have loved to wait and see and time will dictate what will happen. Just in case we are not innocent, we will accept what the judge, the Premier League decide.
“But what happens if in the same situation that UEFA happened, we are innocent? What happens to restore our damage? Because the damage is for one decade.”
Prior to the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturning the ruling and reducing City’s fine from €30 million to €10 million, UEFA had sanctioned a two-year ban from European football in 2019 for financial irregularities.
Mikel Arteta reacts to Premier League charges brought against his former club Manchester City
