Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has stated that his conscience is clear concerning Manchester City’s Premier League rule breaches, a period during which he served as assistant manager at the club.
Arteta worked under Pep Guardiola from 2016 to 2019. This timeframe overlaps with the nine seasons in which City were found to have broken financial regulations by disguising more than £830m in secret funding.
In his first press conference since the independent commission’s ruling was issued, the Arsenal boss sought to respect the ongoing legal process, noting that the club has appealed the decision. For the majority of the session, he declined to offer opinions on the case until it is resolved.
However, after more than half an hour of questioning, a journalist pressed him on his direct involvement. The reporter asked, “You were at City for three and a half years, is your conscience clear? You had a senior position there, is your conscience clear?”
Arteta responded with a single word: “Yes.” This brief answer stood out as the only moment in the conference where he moved away from his standard messaging regarding the appeal.
He remained polite but firm, stating he would not comment on whether he had spoken to Guardiola about the matter. When asked about the commission’s damning report, which found City arranged “sham contracts” with commercial partners to hide earnings, Arteta reiterated that it was important to respect the process and timelines.
“My position, and I think the club’s position, is not to make any further comments until this is fully resolved,” he said.
Addressing whether the appeal and sanction needed to be settled this season to preserve the integrity of the Premier League, Arteta deferred to the governing bodies. “The people are responsible to manage this process and to come to the right conclusions and I’m sure it will be done and it will be resolved in the right way. We have to trust that,” he added.
Arteta also expressed full confidence that the Premier League remains the best league in the world.
Arsenal currently sit three points behind league leaders Manchester City as they prepare to face fifth-placed Leeds at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
It is fascinating how he refused to criticize Guardiola directly. Professional courtesy at its finest.
Good to see he isn’t getting dragged into the drama. Focus on Arsenal, Mikel!
Does this really clear anything? He was there when the sham contracts were allegedly being set up.
I’m honestly surprised he gave such a blunt one-word answer after evading questions for thirty minutes.