Mikel Arteta reveals text message to Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola after Premier League title agony

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola received a text message from Mikel Arteta following the conclusion of the Premier League title race, the Arsenal manager has revealed.

The Arsenal boss suffered Premier League title heartache to former club Manchester City for the second successive season last month, as Pep Guardiola’s side successfully clinched a record-breaking fourth consecutive title.

Manchester City surpassed the 90-point mark and finished two points ahead of the Gunners in the title race, with a 3-1 win over West Ham at the Etihad Stadium on the final day of the season securing a sixth title in seven years.

Guardiola’s side failed to beat Arsenal during the entirety of the campaign however, suffering defeats in the FA Community Shield and at the Emirates Stadium, as well as being held to a goalless draw at the Etihad Stadium in March.

Both City and Arsenal won 28 Premier League matches during the season, but the Blues’ impressive unbeaten streak from early December proved decisive, as the north London club faltered against Aston Villa.

Arteta’s last Premier League title came during his time in east Manchester, with the Spaniard having left Guardiola’s first-team coaching staff to become manager at the Emirates Stadium in December 2019.

The Arsenal manager joined Guardiola’s staff upon his arrival at the Etihad Stadium in 2016, with the Sky Blues having won 17 major trophies since the 53-year-olds move from Bayern Munich.

Following the conclusion of the title race, Arteta has revealed that he sent a text message to Guardiola.

“I congratulated him, all the staff. At the end they deserved it,” he told CNN.

“One is the professional relationship and that competition and then there’s obviously all the personal feelings that I have towards him and all the staff. I spent four beautiful years over there [in Manchester], and that’s never going to change.”

Arteta could emerge as a contender to replace Guardiola as Manchester City manager in the future, with the Catalan out of contract with the Sky Blues in 2025, and the growing potential for next season to be his last at the Etihad.