As Manchester City and Premier League rival Arsenal square off on Sunday afternoon at the Etihad Stadium, the newest instalment of Pep Guardiola against Mikel Arteta will take centre stage.
After winning all four of their first-round games by an overall score of 11-3, most recently defeating Brentford 2-1 at home last weekend, Guardiola’s Citizens are presently leading the standings.
Arsenal, on the other hand, has gained 10 points from their first four Premier League games, including all three gained from a tight 1-0 victory against Tottenham Hotspur in the North London derby last weekend. Arteta’s team is currently in second place in the standings, just two points behind first place.
Both Man City and Arsenal come into this match having drawn 0-0 in the Champions League midweek against Italian opponents; the Citizens and the Gunners split the points against Inter Milan and Atalanta BC, respectively.
Over the years, Guardiola has had many memorable experiences playing at Arsenal, especially during his trophy-filled nine-year tenure at Manchester City.
In anticipation of the tantalising match at the top of the table on Sunday, Sports Mole examines Guardiola’s record as an Arsenal manager.
Pep Guardiola’s record vs. Arsenal
Played: 30
Won: 20
Drawn: 4
Lost: 6
Pep Guardiola’s record as Man City manager vs. Arsenal
Played: 22
Won: 16
Drawn: 2
Lost: 4
Throughout his 16-year spectacular management career, Pep Guardiola has faced Arsenal 30 times overall across all competitions, more than any other club.
The Catalan manager has managed three separate clubs to a total of 20 triumphs against one club, the most of his managerial career. He has also played in four draws and experienced six losses. Against the Gunners, the coach has a 66.67% victory record. Guardiola’s teams have scored 66 goals overall, but they have also given up 29 goals.
Except for neutral sites, Guardiola has won eight, drawn two, and lost three of his 13 home games against Arsenal and has lost 0 of his 13 road games.
During his tenure as manager of Barcelona and Bayern Munich, Guardiola faced Arsenal eight times in the Champions League. With both teams, he had two victories, one draw, and one loss against the Gunners.
Guardiola’s team won both the 2009–10 quarterfinal match at Barcelona by a score of 6-3 overall, and the 2010–11 last-16 matchup ended in a 4-3 aggregate victory for Arsenal, which had defeated Barca 2-1 at the Emirates in the first leg of the matchup before falling short 3-1 at Camp Nou.
Before having mixed results in the 2015–16 group stage—losing 2-0 at the Emirates before smashing Arsenal 5-1 at the Allianz Arena—Guardiola led the German powerhouses, Bayern, to a 3–1 aggregate victory in the 2013–14 last 16.
Since being hired as manager of Man City in the summer of 2016, Guardiola has managed 22 games against Arsenal, with a record of 16 victories, 2 draws, and 4 losses.
As City’s manager, Guardiola faced the Gunners eight times in three separate competitions during the tenures of Arsene Wenger and, for a brief while, Unai Emery at Arsenal. He won six of those encounters, drew one, and lost only one.
In December 2016, Guardiola managed Man City for the first time and won his first Premier League match, 2-1, against Arsenal. However, the Citizens had to settle for a 2-2 draw in the rematch before falling 2-1 at Wembley in the FA Cup semifinals.
Man City and Guardiola then went on to win seven straight games against Arsenal, including a 3-0 victory in the 2018 EFL Cup final. They also won two 3-0 Premier League matches against interim manager Freddie Ljungberg and current head coach Mikel Arteta, who took over as head coach at the Emirates in December 2019 after leaving his assistant position at the Etihad.
Pep Guardiola vs. Mikel Arteta
Played: 13
Guardiola wins: 9
Draws: 2*
Arteta wins: 2
*One draw resulted in Arsenal winning on penalties in the 2023 Community Shield
The focus now shifts to a new Premier League managerial rivalry between Guardiola and Arteta, the master and his former apprentice, who have previously engaged in many famous skirmishes. This rivalry began when Liverpool icon Jurgen Klopp left Anfield in the summer of 2023.
At the end of 2019, Arteta took over an Arsenal team that was going through a major transformation. Few will be shocked to hear that, throughout the early years of Guardiola’s Man City team’s rule at the Emirates, the Gunners were the dominant team in this matchup.
In fact, between June 2020 and April 2023, Guardiola won nine of his ten meetings with Arteta’s Arsenal across all competitions; the only loss the Catalans suffered during that remarkable run was a 2-0 FA Cup semifinal setback.
Six of the wins saw Man City score two goals or more, while three saw them score four or more. Among those victories was a stunning 5-0 home victory against Arsenal in August 2021, which marked both the Citizens’ largest win over Arsenal and Arteta’s worst loss as manager to that point.
Since then, Arsenal has flourished under Arteta and established itself as Man City’s greatest rival for the Premier League title, despite heartbreakingly losing the previous two seasons.
Man City defeated Arsenal twice in the 2022–2023 season, which was City’s historic treble-winning campaign. First, they triumphed 4–1 at the Etihad, then 3–1 at the Emirates. Since then, Guardiola’s Citizens have lost their last three games against the Gunners.
After a 1-1 draw in 90 minutes, the teams lost 5-2 on penalties in the Community Shield in 2023. Later, they lost 1-0 away in the Premier League and drew goalless at home in their most recent meeting in March 2024.