Arsenal begins their premier league campaign which pits Unai Emery against Pep Guardiola for the first time in England. The two Spaniards know each other well from their days in the Spanish League and met several times during their stints at Valencia and Barcelona respectively.
Both managers have been speaking about the traits and characteristics of each other and had some nice things to say. Emery speaking during the pre-match conference revealed that he enjoys the personal duel with his countryman.
Emery acknowledged that Guardiola career as both a player has dwarfed his but he is still excited to face-off with the former Barcelona captain.
“I am 46 and he is 47,” he said. “His career as a player is bigger than mine and his career as a coach is also bigger than mine, but we started at the same moment, our career as coaches.
“His coaches, with statistics and data, is better than me also. But I like to play more against him because it’s demanding for your preparation, to try to win against his teams.
“When we were in Spain, for me, each match against Barcelona with Almeria and then with Valencia for four years, was very exciting and demanding.
“It’s for that reason that Sunday is the same for me here. A new experience, but with one work with a lot of ambition for me. I want to show and to give our players also this ambition.”
Pep Guardiola, when quizzed about Emery, had nice things to say about the 47-year-old tactician. The Man City boss professed his admiration for Emery’s work ethic and is fascinated with his detailed knowledge about opposition tactics.
He also retaliated his respect for Emery’s achievement especially the three Europa league titles won during his time at Sevilla.
“Unai is a work ethic guy,” said Guardiola. “He knows absolutely everything about the opponents.
“He achieved something unique in Europe, three Europa Leagues in a row. He is a top, top manager.
This is the golden age of managers in the EPL with many of the top managers in England from Mourinho, Klopp, Pochettino, Benitez and Pellegrini
this competition would bring out some exciting rivalries starting from Sunday big match clash between Manchester City and Arsenal at the Emirates.
