How Klopp and Arteta rivalries shaped Guardiola's Man City

• Published1 hour ago

Pep Guardiola will end his decade-long reign at Manchester City this summer after a trophy-filled tenure shaped by memorable managerial battles against Jurgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta.

One of the greatest managers of his generation, Guardiola changed the landscape of English football by redefining its style of play, lifting 17 major trophies and bowing out with a domestic cup double in his final season.

His passion and enthusiasm on the touchline was unmatched, as opposition managers witnessed up close his obsession for winning football matches.

Now 55, Guardiola was pitted against Liverpool's heavy-metal era under Klopp and Arteta's well-drilled set-piece specialists, who brought to an end Arsenal's 22-year wait for the league title.

"With Guardiola and Klopp, there weren't many similarities," former City defender Nedum Onuoha told BBC Sport. "It was about two different football clubs, two different fanbases and two different footballing philosophies.

"With Arteta now, it has felt different because it is a familiar adversary for Guardiola as someone who he had in his coaching staff."

'Not a rivalry' - Klopp on Guardiola battles

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Klopp had been at Liverpool since October 2015 when Guardiola joined City the next summer. What followed was a colossal eight-year tussle that brought mutual admiration.

While previous Premier League managerial rivalries between the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger were rooted in toxicity and mind games, the Guardiola-Klopp narrative was built on a mutual pursuit of perfect football.

Before the final meeting between the two managers in March 2024,, external Klopp said the contests were "not a rivalry" and Guardiola was the "outstanding manager" of his lifetime.

Guardiola reciprocated those words last November - before facing Liverpool in the 1,000 match of his career.

"Liverpool have been the biggest rival in this country so it could not be better to be honest," he said.

"Jurgen gave me a lot and I miss him. It was a sense of... to beat that guy how much I have to work and be better."

Despite their respective teams going ferociously toe to toe for 90 minutes, the full-time whistle often brought big smiles and hugs between the two managers whatever the result.

Titanic title tussles

Guardiola's first English title win came in 2017-18, when City swept all aside by lifting the trophy with a record-breaking 100 points.

Klopp knew the challenge that was facing his Liverpool side the following season and would have been aware they could not afford to put a foot wrong.

With Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino fully firing, they lost only one league game all season and collected 97 points.

But they were pipped by City on the final day, with Guardiola's men winning their last 14 league games and overturning a seven-point deficit in January.

Klopp and Liverpool's moment finally came during the Covid-hit 2019-20 season, needing to break records to overhaul City and lift the big prize for the first time in 30 years.

The Reds had claimed a record-equalling 18 straight Premier League victories before losing to Watford in February, going on to win the title by the earliest point of a season (with seven games remaining) and holding the largest points lead at any time with 25.

Guardiola, though, was not to be outdone, with City becoming the first English side to win four top-flight titles in a row, including a tremendous fight in 2021-22, when Liverpool finished second with 92 points.

"We look back on the key moments from the two sides and how it felt like they were so far ahead of everybody else," said Onuoha. "From City and Liverpool's perspective, you knew that if you lost a game in the back half of the season, that would be the end of your title hopes.

"Astonishingly, Liverpool got to 97 points and didn't win the title. That is how crazy the rivalry became and the standard for the league. Those seasons where City had to come out on top by being perfect over long periods, Liverpool did force them to go to a whole new level.

"The pressure of playing in those games towards the end of the season knowing a draw could be the end of your title chances... it forces some of the players to play the best football they did in their careers."

In January 2024, Klopp stunned Anfield by announcing he would quit Liverpool at the end of the season as he was "running out of energy".

Guardiola, though, was to be more energised than before as Arteta stepped forward.

Arteta goes from student to master

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These two men first crossed paths in 1997 at Barcelona, when Arteta joined the famed La Masia academy, meeting his idol Guardiola - then club captain.

After retiring as a player in 2016, Arteta was given his coaching apprenticeship by Guardiola and he spent three years working under his mentor at Etihad Stadium.

A return to Arsenal followed the sacking of Unai Emery, and within five months he had won the FA Cup.

That was supposed to signal a return to regular silverware for the Gunners, but Arteta was finding it difficult to crack the Guardiola code. They were runners-up to City in the 2022-23 season - despite spending 248 days at the top - as well as in the following campaign.

Tensions between the two men began to appear in September 2024 when City salvaged a 98th-minute equaliser for a 2-2 draw against 10-man Arsenal, with then captain Kyle Walker accusing the opposition of employing "dark arts".

In a news conference the following week, Arteta was asked about that comment and replied, external he had "all the information, believe me".

Guardiola was none too pleased with that response, and said: "So, we have to [say]: 'OK you provoke me, OK, I'm there.' You want a war? Now we war."

It was a stark contrast to the Guardiola-Klopp era.

An injury crisis in defence derailed City's campaign, but Arsenal again finished second to Arne Slot's Liverpool.

The friction has cooled in the past year, with BBC Sport columnist Guillem Balague reporting that contact between Guardiola and Arteta had been re-established and the two were on speaking terms but "nobody wants to say who made the first call".

Nevertheless, Arteta was desperate to end his streak as a runner-up and his style of play became the antithesis to that of Guardiola's, with Arsenal scoring a record number of goals from set-pieces in their challenge for the title.

Despite being beaten by City in this season's Carabao Cup final, Arteta had the final say by finally clinching the title for the first time in over two decades following City's draw at Bournemouth.

"For Guardiola, he adapted to many rivals and changes in the Premier League," added Onuoha. "Looking back to 10 years ago, you can see how different he was then to how he became.

"There have been so many iterations of his side and different versions of the team in the Premier League.

"From an Arsenal perspective, they forced him to adapt but that came in line with changes in the league as it was very different a few years ago."

Where Guardiola ends up next remains to be seen, but he will be lining up not only his next job, but his next managerial adversary too.

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