Mikel Arteta has finally commented on Manchester City's charges, and the impact it has had on the Premier League.
Arsenal and Manchester City have been the Premier League's most consistent sides over the last four seasons, and whilst City twice came out on top in their title race with Mikel Arteta's side, they have spent much of that period embroiled in a long-running battle off the pitch.
The Premier League published the independent Commission's verdict on Man City late last month, on a historic day for the sport, with the club found to have breached the league's financial rules on every count they faced.
Man City have appealed against the independent Commission's ruling, which labelled some of their dealings between 2009/10 and 2017/18 as a 'sham', and manager Enzo Maresca claims that the club's owners are 'convinced' that they will win the appeal.
Arteta got the better of Pep Guardiola last season, with the City manage announcing his departure just days after Arsenal were crowned champions after a thrilling title race.
The Arsenal boss worked under Guardiola as an assistant after retiring from his playing career, before the opportunity arose to return to The Emirates as head coach in December 2019.
Reflecting on the departure of the Premier League's most successful manager of the past decade, Arteta said, 'It's been an absolute joy. He has set a standard in the Premier League that we haven't seen before.'
When asked about his former club's serious breaches of the league's financial rules, Arteta declined to comment in detail as City have lodged an appeal, explaining, 'I think it's very important that we respect the process and the timelines'.
The Spaniard insisted that Arsenal are instead focusing on hosting Leeds United on Saturday afternoon, after suffering a shock defeat at Brighton last time out, he added, 'What we think is about us, about what we do, and what we want to achieve. That's it. The rest is something that we don't control, we have never controlled it, and we don't want to control it. That's the beauty of what we do.'
Many have questioned the integrity of the Premier League, following the Commission's findings, but Arteta still believes it is '100%' the best league in the world.
He continued, 'It will continue to be the best league in the world. Again, I feel privileged to be where I am, and the fact that there are other clubs that have been extremely good at managing their resources in such intelligent and efficient ways. That is good because it has increased the competition, and we saw that a few weeks ago.'
Arsenal currently trail Man City in the league table, with their title rivals boasting a perfect record this campaign under Maresca.