Mikel Arteta has rejected the idea that Manchester City’s guilty verdict can kill the Premier League’s reputation.
The Arsenal manager said on Friday that the league remained the best in the world, despite an independent commission finding City guilty of 114 breaches of financial rules covering the period from 2009 to 2018, leaving fans, players and coaches wondering about the legitimacy of much of the last decade.
City have appealed against the findings and could face sanctions ranging from a fine to expulsion from the league if their appeal fails.
“It is the best league in the world in my opinion, yes, for many reasons and as well because I’ve been here for over 20 years and it will continue to be the best league in the world,” Arteta said.
Asked whether the City case had already harmed the Premier League, regardless of the outcome of the appeal, Arteta said: “There is a process there again that is not resolved, it’s ongoing and we can have I think a much clearer opinion once it’s been resolved. Up to now I’m not prepared to make any comments.”
The Spaniard, who worked under Pep Guardiola at City before taking charge of Arsenal, declined to say whether the verdict had damaged his memories of their success together. City won two league titles during his time on Guardiola’s coaching staff.
“It’s a lot of noise around it,” he said. “It’s an ongoing process that is not resolved yet and I think we need to respect it and certainly I have to respect that.”
Arteta also rejected the suggestion that the league’s financial regulations were a hindrance to competition. He pointed to Brentford, Brighton and Leeds as examples of clubs that had managed their resources effectively, allowing them to compete with wealthier rivals.
“The fact that there are other clubs, and you mentioned a few, that they’ve been extremely good at managing the resources in such an intelligent and efficient way is good because it has increased the competition,” he said.
Arsenal’s own defeat at Brighton, where they lost 3-0 a few weeks ago, illustrated the challenges posed by clubs outside the traditional title contenders, Arteta added.
The 43-year-old has signed a new four-year contract with Arsenal after guiding them to their first Premier League title in 22 years in May. Guardiola’s departure at the end of last season has also made Arteta the league’s longest-serving manager.
