Pep Guardiola the Arsenal man? Yes, it almost happened, but not as a manager, and instead while he was a player. Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger manager said in an interview with beIN SPORTS that Pep looked into the idea of joining the Gunners as his playing days with Barcelona were winding down.
The Spanish midfielder moved on to Brescia instead. He also played with Roma, Dorados and Al-Ahli before his playing career ended in 2006. However, he almost joined Wenger’s team, and even once visited the Frenchman at his home.
“I talked to him a few times, and once he came to my house when he was a player because he wanted to play for Arsenal,” Wenger said in the interview.
Guardiola won three La Liga titles and two Champions Leagues with Barcelona, before moving on to Bayern Munich, where he won three straight Bundesliga crowns. He will lead Manchester City to the League Cup final against Arsenal on Sunday at Wembley Stadium in London.
“He’s won much more than I did,” Wenger continued. “I think he has done much better than I have, and he’s knowing very well what to do. He has exceptional teams and he is managing them very well.
“I respect what he does because he has a clear vision of the game, he has a positive attitude, a positive philosophy.”
“Even if he doesn’t win I have as much respect as when he wins because I think the people who have an influence in the game, it’s very important they have a positive attitude towards the game.”
A win on Sunday accomplishes the first goal in Manchester City’s treble ambitions. More importantly, they are currently running away with the race for the Premier League title, as that competition has essentially been over since Pep Guardiola and his men came into Old Trafford and knocked off Manchester United on December 10.
City is also the overwhelming favorite in the UEFA Champions League. On the downside, they were eliminated from the FA Cup fifth round by League One side Wigan Athletic yesterday.
In other Pep Guardiola news, the Football Association ruled today that neither he nor his striker Sergio Aguero will face any punitive action for the tunnel fracas yesterday.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Sound Cloud, LinkedIn and YouTube.