Manchester City

Guillem Balague
BBC Sport Columnist

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Former colleagues. Master and apprentice. Title rivals.

Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta's relationship has cut across a range of strands over the years and evolved along with their managerial styles.

The pair go head to head at Etihad Stadium on Sunday in a match many have billed as a Premier League title decider. A win for Guardiola and second-placed Manchester City would cut the lead of Arteta's Arsenal side to just three points, with a game in hand.

The Spaniards' relationship started in 1997 when Arteta joined Barcelona's academy - meeting his idol, Barca skipper and fellow midfielder Guardiola. Their time as team-mates was brief, but a friendship was forged.

Communication between the two managers cooled significantly when Arteta gave up his role as Guardiola's assistant in Manchester back in 2019 to take charge of Arsenal.

While the City boss's other former assistants maintained closer contact, Arteta stepped away - and that distance created silence.

While Arsenal learned to compete at the highest level, Guardiola continued to evolve.

That tension - between adapting and remaining faithful to an idea - defines the 55-year-old's career.

"He starts incorporating new concepts," said Pep Segura, former director of football at Barcelona. "Above all defensive transition, that's where he evolves enormously.

"Arteta incorporated more physical profiles than Pep. Pep seeks more technical players… Arteta looks for strength, speed, power."

But there are still plenty of points of convergence.

"Both have looked for pieces to improve the offensive transition," added Segura. "City with [Erling] Haaland… Arteta with [Viktor] Gyokeres."

There is an element where the comparison becomes most revealing. In elite football, what defines coaches is how they respond to difficulty.

Arteta is in that moment now. He has built a team capable of competing with the best. But the final step - winning consistently at the very top - is where he wants to get to.

Read more on Arteta and Guardiola

Scarlet Katz Roberts
Fan writer

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I don't think there is an adequate word to describe how nervous I feel for Arsenal's trip to the Etihad. A sports psychologist would probably have a field day and say something about reframing my thinking. After all, this is an opportunity to effectively end the title race. But the only thing I can think of doing is scheduling an anaesthetic to kick in on Sunday, lasting until 27 May.

The strangest thing about this game is that it won't decide the title. Unless Arsenal win it of course. But if City win, then it's still in both team's hands to win the league. Part of the challenge for us will be handling the shift in momentum if the worst happens at the Etihad.

There are three things I admire about City (and despise in equal measure). One is a 6ft 5in Norwegian robot, the other two are Rayan Cherki and Jeremy Doku. The unpredictability and vibrancy with which they can create has no analogue in this current Arsenal side. Their talent is appallingly, terrifyingly good. In those three players, City always have the capacity to end things quickly and without warning.

That's the cruelty of defending against great players. You can have a brilliant 89 minutes, but they only have to beat you once and Arsenal limp to the Etihad without their first choice backline (yawn). Sure, when Bukayo Saka is at full tilt he has a claim to be one of the best attackers in the league. But a combination of injuries and poor form leaves us staring down the barrel of a Hail Mary start for a 16-year-old in our most important match of the season.

I'm sorry to say this - I really am - but in my current headspace, I can only see one outcome and it sickens me. We all know what this game is going to look like. Arsenal don't need to chase the win, City do.

My rallying cry to my embattled team would be, remember who you are. Please, remember you have been the best team in the country for eight months and if Erling Haaland wheels away celebrating an early goal from a Gabriel shanked clearance, it's not the end.

If we can escape with a point, I'll be mighty relieved.

Find more from Scarlet Katz Roberts at the Goal Difference podcast, external

Emily Brobyn
Fan writer

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I'm not too nervous for Arsenal's visit at the moment but ask me again when I'm getting ready to head to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

I'd almost reluctantly accepted the fact that it was Arsenal's title when they could've gone 12 points ahead. Now the gap has been cut to six, it feels like an opportunity too good to miss for City, especially with the momentum in our favour.

It feels like it means the absolute world to Arsenal. It's been a long 22-year wait for them to bring the Premier League title home – that trophy has never even seen the Emirates Stadium! Mikel Arteta is being judged on one trophy in seven years too; this is the one where they've fallen short and this has to be the season for triumph. If it isn't, it could cost him his job. Will this game decide the title? It feels more like a must-not-lose for City when it comes to the title race.

In terms of the match itself, you can't look past set-pieces when it comes to Arsenal. That's their gameplan. They've mastered the art and, while it may be divisive, it has worked for them – so far. Will it be prove to be enough though?

City have generally been hopeless at corners, so we could learn a trick or two from them in that department. Victor Gyokeres has settled into Premier League life well too – he's a constant threat. They'll be desperate to get the job done on Sunday – a win would do it. A draw could even seal it.

But the question is - will Arsenal come to east Manchester and be brave? Will they play without fear? It may help not playing in front of the expectant Emirates crowd, but the Etihad will be a cauldron of atmosphere and it's about how they handle that.

At this point, it's about the ability to handle the pressure as much as what you can produce on the pitch. City are flying right now – they have their tails up and they'll smell blood. The attack of Jeremy Doku, Antoine Semenyo, Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki has been lethal of late. Plus, we've recently triumphed over Arsenal at Wembley in the League Cup final.

Emily Brobyn is regularly on BBC Radio Manchester - find all their Man City audio here

Marissa Thomas
BBC Sport journalist

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Arsenal at Etihad Stadium (kick-off 16:30 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Team news on defenders Ruben Dias and Nico O'Reilly: "Ruben is not ready and Nico is fine. I prefer it to be everybody but during the season players get injured."

• On if it would be one of his greatest achievements to win the title this season: "No. It's really, really good to be in the title race but it would not be one of the greatest achievements."

• On Mikel Arteta: "Every year they are getting better and better. Last season Liverpool were incredible but the previous one and this season, Arsenal have been the biggest contender."

• Is the Arsenal match a final? "Obviously, if we lose it's over. But the other two results, Arsenal didn't beat Bournemouth and there is still games to play. Six games is a lot in our calendar especially. Still many things to do. The reality is there are seven games left for us in the Premier League and that is the decisive moment."

• Are Man City underdogs? "They [Arsenal] are not at their best, Mikel said after their Champions League game, they are unbeaten in the Champions League. They have been the best so far and we want to challenge them. It's just a football game so we have to approach it like a football game. The target is to perform well and all the aspects required to challenge Arsenal."

• Guardiola said he likes watching Arsenal play and that "people are so demanding, the media, the supporters, everyone" but he learns a lot from watching the Gunners. "They have not won the Premier League for 22 years so we cannot fight against that and we have to focus on the way we play."

• He said: "Six points is not a short distance but you have the chance to do it, the team will be ready, our fans have sold out [the Etihad], everything perfect to try to play a game."

• On what he expects from Arsenal: "The duels, the physicality, you allow them to make a good build-up, David Raya's incredible long balls and second balls. They are so aggressive in the frontal balls. They have been leaders in the Premier League all season and I am proud to still be challenging them. We have to be top, top level to beat these rivals."

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Unsurprisingly, tributes to Bernado Silva have been flying in from Manchester City fans after the Portugal international confirmed on Thursday that he will leave the club at the end of the season.

The 31-year-old has racked up a haul of 15 major trophies across his decade with the club and says he leaves as "a Man City supporter for life".

City fan Andrew said: "End of an era. It feels like we're losing the heartbeat of the team - that player who always gives 100% every time he plays.

"He's the sort of player who can take a game by the scruff of the neck and give us that energy when we need it. He's been Pep's favourite for nine years - a consistent player who never has a bad game."

Fellow City fan Scott added: "He's been fantastic. He's played everywhere and is always consistent. He's a proper team player, he doesn't go missing in big games. It doesn't matter the number of goals he's scored, it matters that the team scores important goals while he is on the pitch.

"He's a brilliant footballer, a nice guy, and the type of player you love when he's playing for you and hate when he isn't."

Listen to more tributes below or on BBC Sounds

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It's a simple question.

Whose position would you rather be in - Manchester City's or Arsenal's?

The team on Monday Night Club have had their say.

"You'd much rather be Arsenal," says Chris Sutton.

Watch Monday Night Club on iPlayer or listen on BBC Sounds

Manchester City and Barcelona are leading the race to sign Palmeiras' 16-year-old Brazilian forward Eduardo Conceicao. (Mail+ - subscription required, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

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Shamoon Hafez
Football reporter

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You can see how much Bernardo Silva means to Pep Guardiola from the way the Manchester City manager praised his playmaker earlier this month.

Guardiola said he "loves" Silva and the Portuguese is a player for whom he "has a weakness".

The City boss feels he has never been let down by the 31-year-old and even when Silva was sent off during the Champions League last-16 second leg loss against Real Madrid, he refused to blame the player, saying it was an "instinctive" reaction to handle the ball.

Speaking before City's win at Chelsea last weekend, Guardiola was asked if Silva was under-rated and he gave a glowing response.

"He is not the tallest one, the most muscular one, or score 50 goals or make 50 assists a season," he said.

"These are the type of players that are spotlighted and everyone talks about. From nine years, I know him quite well and for what a manager requires.

"All managers would say how much they love him because he is incredibly competitive, has a fire inside him always. In the toughest moments and on the biggest stages, he is always there.

"He has been an incredible signing for us, incredible. I love this club and I would love if he could stay and finish his career here but I do not know. He will decide what he will decide. It is his decision."

That decision has now been made and Silva will leave the Etihad this summer.

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Former Manchester City centre-back Steph Houghton says Bernardo Silva can do things no other player is capable of doing.

The midfielder has announced he is leaving the club at the end of the season and Houghton said: "There is nobody that can do what he does. With Bernardo, he is a different kind of leader to [Vincent] Kompany or Fernandinho.

"A lot of it is through performances and about him leading the boys in doing certain things. You can't fault his effort every single time he pulls on a Manchester City shirt.

"No matter where he is playing, he gives absolutely everything."

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Manchester City captain Bernardo Silva has announced he will leave the club when his current contract expires at the end of the season but says he will remain a supporter "for life".

The 31-year-old racked up a haul of 15 major trophies, 76 goals and 77 assists in his time at City, but says that was only half of the story.

"This city and this club gave me much more than I ever hoped for. What we won and achieved together is a legacy that will for ever be cherished in my heart." said the Portuguese playmaker in a heartfelt post on Instagram.

"In a few months it's time to say goodbye to the city where not only we won so much as a football club, but also where I started my marriage and my family."

He then thanked fans for their "unconditional support" through the years.

"My main goal as a player was to always play with passion so you guys could feel proud and well represented on the pitch. I hope you felt that every single game."

He went on to thank the club, manager Pep Guardiola, staff and his team-mates for letting him "be a part of this journey for so long".

"The atmosphere we created every day in the training ground made me feel at home and a part of a big family. Let's enjoy together these last weeks and fight for what this season still brings us.

"I arrived as a Man City player, I leave as one more of you, a Man City supporter for life."

Image source, Getty Images

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Man City midfielder Tijani Reijnders speaks to BBC Radio Manchester ahead of facing Arsenal this weekend: "We are in a really good flow.

"These are the kind of weeks that you relish as a Manchester City player, which is big game after big game.

"It's amazing to play games like this and to be on the stage like this, and it makes you even more eager to play. That's why I also made a move to this club to fight for trophies.

"I feel very positive, very happy. A great group as well. They helped me a lot in the beginning, and of course, we had some difficult times, but we always stick together. And yes, that's why we are here now.

"The win against Arsenal gave us a boost. We showed them that we are there and that the season is not finished yet."

On the creative influence of Rayan Cherki, Reijnders said: "He is a great player. And yes, sometimes he's a bit crazy, but that's what makes him so special, and what helps us as a team as well. I hope he can keep going with it."

Listen to the full interview here

Manchester City are closely monitoring Feyenoord's Dutch full-back Givairo Read, 19, but Bayern Munich are also keen. (Sky Sports, external)

Juventus are keeping tabs on City midfielder Bernardo Silva as they look to to overhaul their squad in the summer. (Corriere dello Sport - in Italian, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

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