Arteta declares clear conscience over Manchester City's £830m financial breaches as appeal looms
Arteta's one-word answer
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has insisted he has a clear conscience over Manchester City's serious breaches of Premier League financial rules, during a period in which he worked as Pep Guardiola's assistant at the Etihad.
In his first news conference since an independent commission found City artificially inflated their revenue by £830m between 2009/10 and 2017/18, Arteta was pressed repeatedly by journalists over the verdict. Towards the end of more than half an hour of questioning, he was 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?”
His reply was a single word: “Yes.”
It was, as one observer noted, arguably the most revealing moment of the entire exchange — the only occasion on which the Spaniard abandoned his carefully rehearsed position of refusing to discuss the case until it is resolved.
A guarded response to a damning verdict
The independent commission found that City arranged “sham contracts” with a number of commercial partners to disguise earnings, including artificially inflating sponsorship income by £264.3m across the 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons. The club have lodged an appeal and deny all wrongdoing.
The investigation covered two years in which Arteta was working alongside Guardiola, but in an otherwise guarded press conference the Arsenal boss repeatedly insisted he would not comment further until the outcome of City's appeal is known.
“The thing is that this has been going for various years,” Arteta said. “The process is still not finished, so it's very difficult to express how I feel because it's not resolved. When it's resolved, I can talk with clarity and tell you exactly how I feel.
“I think that process has to be resolved in a way. And we need to trust that the people who are in charge doing that will do it in the timeframe that they believe is best for everybody.”
Asked for his reaction to the damning report, he added: “I fully understand the question, but obviously I think it's very important that we respect the process, the timelines, and it's still an ongoing process that is not resolved because it's been appealed. My position, and I think the club's position, is not to make any further comments until this is fully resolved.”
When asked whether he had spoken to Guardiola, Arteta said: “I prefer not to answer those questions.”
Three-and-a-half years at the Etihad
Arteta spent three-and-a-half seasons working with Guardiola, including the 2016/17 and 2017/18 campaigns, when City won back-to-back Premier League titles, an FA Cup and two League Cups, before leaving the club to take charge of Arsenal in 2019. According to the independent commission, City's signings during the 2016/17 and 2017/18 period included John Stones, Aymeric Laporte, Bernardo Silva, Ederson and Kyle Walker.
Arteta refused to comment when asked if his memories of working at City had been tainted. When asked whether he was pleased to have won the Premier League title for Arsenal before the verdict, he said: “I feel proud and very emotional when I think about how we won it, the moments that we had together. It's a unique and genuine feeling that I have.”
Arteta, who this week signed a new four-year contract as Arsenal manager, was asked if, to preserve the integrity of the Premier League, the appeal and sanction needed to be resolved this season. He replied: “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.”
Premier League 'still the best in the world'
Arteta insisted the Premier League will “100 per cent” continue to be the best league in the world despite questions of integrity thrown up by the City verdict.
“It's the best league in the world for many reasons,” he added. “I've been here for over 20 years and it will continue to be the best league in the world. I feel privileged to be where I am. And there are a few clubs who have been extremely good and managed resources in an intelligent way. And we suffered from that a few weeks ago [with their defeat to Brighton].”
However, following comments by Nottingham Forest boss Oliver Glasner, who said the Premier League has been “damaged” by City being found guilty, Arteta admitted he was unsure about the impact on the competition's reputation globally.
“I want to think that it doesn't [damage the Premier League] but I don't know,” he said. “And certainly it's not in our control. In our control is to bring everything we can individually to the club, to maintain the position we have to be the best league in the world.”
Focus turns to Leeds
With the controversy swirling, Arteta's attention is now turning back to the pitch. Arsenal, who sit three points behind league leaders City, face fifth-placed Leeds on Saturday at Emirates Stadium.