Mikel Arteta is confident his friend Pep Guardiola was not playing mind games when he described Arsenal as “the best team in the world”.
Guardiola made the claim last week after outlining how difficult it would be for Manchester City to overhaul the Gunners in the Premier League title race.
Arsenal subsequently lost to Manchester United two days later before getting back on track with a 3-2 defeat of Kairat Almaty in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Arteta’s side hold a four-point lead over City and Aston Villa at the top of the league table ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Leeds.
Asked if he believed Guardiola was adopting the oft-used tactics of former United boss Sir Alex Ferguson and trying to gain a psychological edge over him, Arteta said: “With me? I don’t think so.
“We talk generally [in press conferences], he talks about how he feels and that’s it. If there are mind games, there are mind games. I don’t pay too much attention, we just have to go on the pitch and deliver.”
We are not like old sparring partners Ferguson and Wenger – Arteta
Ferguson and then Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger traded barbs for many years before later developing a friendship.
Arteta says the time he spent working under Guardiola at the Etihad before moving south means they have a different bond.
“That [Ferguson and Wenger] relationship was different, I have known Pep since I was 15 and I lived four and a half years with him every single day,” he said.
“It is different. I’m sure Pep had a great relationship with Enzo [Maresca], and they worked together and can still be rivals.
“The same will happen with players. I had players here and then I have to play against them. Against Granit [Xhaka], I love Granit but if I have to play on the pitch we go to war because I know how he is as well.”
‘Arsenal are doing so many things well’
Arteta was quick to talk up the positives after last week’s setback – the third league game on the trot that Arsenal failed to win.
And he was sticking to that message prior to the game at Elland Road.
He said: ”When you lose a game, you have a lot of feelings. This group of players are so competitive and seek excellence. When you don’t reach it, you ask yourself questions.
“My role is to bring optimism and reality of where we are. Our club has a long history, and to find a moment when in February we are in this position, is difficult to find. Guys, we are doing so many things so well, let’s focus on that.”
