Gunners boss Wenger an admirer of Guardiola’s beliefs

Pep Guardiola may have been handed the keys to Barcelona for his first managerial job but Arsene Wenger believes he shares many similarities with the Spaniard.

Arsenal travel to the blue half of Manchester on Sunday looking to catch up with rampant Premier League leaders Chelsea – and stretch their lead over fourth-placed City to four points.

By Guardiola’s lofty standards – the former Spain midfielder won a succession of titles with Barcelona and Bayern Munich – his first year at the Etihad Stadium is not going entirely to plan.

(Photo by Shaun Botterill/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Successive defeats to Chelsea and Leicester City have left the Sky Blues vulnerable heading into Christmas, with Guardiola yet to successfully implement his possession-based philosophy.

But Wenger is full of admiration for a man who he believes shares much of the same footballing principles.

“He started at Barcelona, I started in an academy,” said Wenger. “It’s not the same, but I must say he has done extremely well and he is one of the most respected managers in the game, if not the most and maybe rightly so.

“[He is] similar [to me] – he tries to play. Every manager has a personality and can only act with his own personality.

“You cannot copy a manager, you can only be who you are, and he has been influenced at Barcelona by the Cruyff period when he was a player. I think he has strong beliefs and that for me is the most important thing for a manager.

“Our job is to always accept that you want your own philosophy but at the right pace. When you go somewhere, sometimes you have to analyse what is going on and to bring in your own philosophy at a pace where you think they can cope with it.”