Mikel Arteta helped Pep Guardiola find his feet in the Premier League before taking up his first managerial position at Arsenal
11:00, 21 Mar 2026
Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal, embraces Josep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City, prior to the Premier League match between Manchester City FC and Arsenal FC at Etihad Stadium on September 22, 2024 in Manchester, England
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Mikel Arteta and Pep Guaridola will lock horns this weekend(Image: Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Kyle Walker has tipped Manchester City to beat Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final. Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola will lock horns at Wembley Stadium on Sunday afternoon as they each look to get their hands on a piece of silverware.
Speaking to Gary Neville on The Overlap, the Burnley defender revealed how his former club will plan to defeat the Gunners. Walker, who left the Citizens in the summer after eight years at the Etihad Stadium, said: "Arsenal are not harder to play against this season, compared to Manchester City.
"City know what they’re doing, and it's ingrained in them because there's a core group of players there that know what is needed and wanted from the manager, which will be you isolate your full backs 1v1 and the wingers will probably nine times out of 10 win you the game."
Arteta joined Guardiola's backroom staff at Manchester City in July 2016, shortly after hanging up his boots. The Arsenal boss, who retired after five years at Emirates Stadium, helped his fellow countryman find his feet in the Premier League.
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A year into their spell together in the dugout, Manchester City signed Walker from Tottenham Hotspur for about £50million – a world-record fee for a defender. The Citizens went on to win two Premier League titles and the FA Cup before Arteta jumped ship.
In December 2019, the Spaniard replaced Unai Emery as head coach at Arsenal. Using the experience he had gained from working alongside one of the all-time greats, Arteta led the Gunners to FA Cup glory in August 2020.
Mikel Arteta and Josep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City looks on during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Brighton and Hove Albion at Etihad Stadium on May 9, 2018 in Manchester, England.
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Arteta and Guardiola worked together at City(Image: Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
He then went on to transform Arsenal into one of the strongest teams in Europe. Walker added: "I've worked with Mikel Arteta at Manchester City, and Mikel's taken a lot of things from Pep in the way that he coaches."
On what parts of Guardiola's philosophy are evident in the Gunners' style of play, the former England international said: "It's the formation, it's the up, back and throughs. It's the set the ball, don't turn on the ball."
When quizzed on the term 'set the ball', Walker said: "Set the ball, don't turn on it. As a youth team, if he's got the half-turn receiver on the back foot, Pep hates it. David Silva could do it.
Mikel Arteta during his days as Pep Guardiola's assistant coach at Manchester City. (Image: Tom Flathers/Manchester City FC via Getty Images)
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Mikel Arteta spent three years learning from Pep Guardiola at City(Image: Tom Flathers/Manchester City FC via Getty Images)
"David Silva could do whatever he wanted to. Kevin De Bruyne would never really get the ball and turn. I think you've watched enough of his games - he'd let the ball run past him. He would never receive the ball and turn, very rarely.
"He would then run to a - we're going to call it a roll-out position, normally with me - where he'd [Kevin De Bruyne] would come out on the wing. I'd go more inside, he would then come on the wing, and he would turn and face the play then."
Arsenal and Manchester City will lock horns in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday afternoon, March 22. Arteta got the better of Guardiola when they last met at Wembley Stadium, winning the Community Shield on penalties in August 2023.
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