In the 2020 FA Cup semi-finals, Arsenal beat Manchester City with a double from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. And now, when the two teams are set to meet in the English Super Cup, it is likely that Arsenal will have no one left. Kieran Tierney and Granit Xhaka, two remaining players at the Emirates last season, both left this summer.
Arsenal led the Premier League for 248 days last season and reached 50 points in the first leg. Unfortunately, Mikel Arteta could not beat Pep Guardiola.
Pep's Man City ended the season with a than fe, including the Champions League title. In addition, they have also defeated Arsenal 3 times, notably 3-1 and 4-1 wins in the Premier League. And before the 2023-2024 season, Pep had an 88% winning rate when facing his former assistant.
Of the coaches who have faced Pep at least 9 times, only Sean Dyche, Eddie Howe and Graham Potter have a worse record than Arteta. And unlike Arteta, they were leading teams in the bottom half of the table when facing Pep.
To overthrow Man City in the Premier League, it is a must to beat them in both matches. Arsenal failed to do that last season and they had another type of victory - successfully recruiting Declan Rice. Both Arsenal and Man City are serious about pursuing West Ham's midfielder, but the "Gunners" are the winning team.
Last summer, Arteta added his championship experience with two Man City players - Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko. And robbing Rice right in front of Man City shows how much Arsenal are eager to overthrow.
Man City understand that Arsenal will not stop, the challenge the "Gunners" created last season did not only appear once. To put it simply, Arteta could be Pep's biggest rival for many years to come.
And Arteta could be the third biggest challenge in Pep's coaching career.
First is the match between Pep and Jose Mourinho when they were both leading Barcelona and Real Madrid in La Liga. Next, Pep and Jurgen Klopp have competed for at least 4 seasons in the Premier League. twice they were only 1 point apart at the end of the season.
The final score is 8-7 in favor of Klopp in the head-to-head record, but in terms of the number of Premier League titles, Pep dominates with 5 times compared to 1 of his opponents.
Despite Liverpool's decline last season, the battle between Pep and Klopp will not stop. Except for Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger, few coaches have "scored" like Pep and Klopp at the moment.
For Arteta, in terms of both head-to-head record and title, he is inferior to Pep. However, with the recent positive movements in the transfer market, Arteta's ambition is huge.
Not all coaches who have been at fault for Pep are capable of regenerating. Mourinho has failed at Manchester United and Tottenham since leaving La Liga. If Arteta possesses the enduring strength of Klopp, then the next challenge is to overcome Pep Guardiola in the 90 minutes and beyond in the next 9 months...
