Guardiola: Man City have secret weapon for Arsenal clash

Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City have a secret weapon when they face Arsenal this weekend – Mikel Arteta.

Arteta became a fan favourite during his five years with the Gunners, but left the Emirates Stadium when he retired from playing in the summer.

A classy, ball-playing midfielder in his pomp, the Spaniard immediately joined Man City’s coaching staff and has helped his countryman Guardiola have a promising first year in charge.

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City and Arsenal are scrapping it out for a top-four spot in the Premier League – with City in third and the Gunners in sixth ahead of the weekend – and ahead their crucial clash on Sunday, the manager is hoping Arteta can help the Citizens find an edge.

“He is helping me a lot,” Guardiola said. “He knows the players individually, he knows Arsene Wenger, he knows what we are facing on Sunday and he has already warned me it is going to be a really tough game.

“Defeat would be bad, definitely. In these games with big teams, the team who is winning has big hopes and the other one a big low.

“There’s ten games left, so it’s the last part of the season. We spoke with the players about targets.”