Pep Guardiola, the head of Manchester City, has buried at Arsenal and revealed that he does not “very” respect the behavior of the club outside the field.
The Gunners defeated City last Saturday and booked their spot in the FA Cup final, where they will face Chelsea.
Guardiola’s former assistant, Mikel Arteta, has impressed since his takeover in the Emirates and the two stay close together.
While Guardiola has long praised the Gunners for their football philosophy, he has revealed that he doesn’t think much about the club’s behavior off the field.
“Opponents always deserve my respect and recognition,” said Pep Guardiola.
“I have every respect for what Arsenal has on the field, not much outside the field – but a lot on the field.”
The comments may surprise some Arsenal fans, as many fans believed Guardiola was a ready replacement for Arsene Wenger before the Frenchman left the club.
Guardiola spoke brightly about the Gunners during his time in Barcelona and Bayern Munich, which convinced many fans that he would ideally like to take command in North London.
However, according to the Telegraph, Guardiola believes Arsenal was the driving force behind a joint letter signed by eight Premier League clubs sent to the Sports Arbitration Panel earlier this year.
The letter argued that any attempt by the city to “delay” the UEFA ban should be dismissed, regardless of the club’s appeal against the two-year Champions League ban.
Guardiola’s team lifted their ban last week, which means they’ll compete in next season’s competition.
But the Spaniard has since gone on the offensive over the “whisperers” in the league who, in his opinion, have acted unfairly against his side while the appeal continues.
Guardiola is said to feel that Arsenal were the “ringleaders” in this regard, and he was unhappy with the aggressive nature of the Gunners’ opposition to the vocation of the city they had won.
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