There's one key difference between Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola - and no one has picked up on it

Mikel Arteta may be inspired by Pep Guardiola - but there's a key parallel between mentor and protege that has gone unnoticed

Mikel Arteta and Pep 

For two years, Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola played at the same club. For four years, they were coaching colleagues. Now, they're equals – at least in the fire of a title race in the Premier League.

Their educations have run parallel, a decade or so apart: La Masia upbringings, with genial gentlemen of the Premier League providing the spark for them to realise coaching was the life for them (Bobby Robson for Pep, Arsene Wenger for Mikel). Yet the differences are stark, with Guardiola leaving Barcelona on his terms; Mikel Arteta never getting to dictate his own path.

Andres Iniesta

Andres Iniesta changed the way Guardiola thought about football Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Riccardo Calafiori of Arsenal interacts with teammate Jurrien Timber, as he prepares to enter the field during the Premier League match between Aston Villa FC and Arsenal FC at Villa Park on August 24, 2024 in Birmingham, England.

Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber: one generalist for another 

Bukayo Saka of Arsenal celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD2 match between Arsenal FC and Paris Saint-Germain at Emirates Stadium on October 01, 2024 in London, England.

Arsenal vs PSG was an example of Arteta's side being asked to do multiple things within the same game