Man City hero wants to emulate ‘smart’ Mikel Arteta when he retires

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is still inspiring his former players at Manchester City, with Ilkay Gundogan keen to follow in his footsteps as he begins to contemplate retirement.

Arteta joined City’s coaching staff in 2016 after retiring from playing football, linking up with Pep Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium and helping build a team that would go on to dominate English football.

He would then leave to return to Arsenal, whom he last played for, as manager in 2019.

Arteta has been going head-to-head with Guardiola and his former team in the Premier League title race in recent seasons, and hopes to end a run of four successive Cityzen league crowns this year.

Gundogan was the first player to sign for City under Guardiola and Arteta, joining from Borussia Dortmund eight years ago.

He went on to captain the side to the treble in 2023 before a difficult spell tf Barcelona last season.

The 33-year-old returned to the club this summer, but is looking ahead to what is next after he stops playing.

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Gundogan admires Mikel Arteta

He lauded Arteta and admitted following in his footsteps would be a “stroke of luck”

“Mikel is a very smart person who really knows what he wants and has to do to achieve certain things,” Gundogan told Sky Germany.

“It quickly became clear to me when I met him that this was the path he would take. I’m not surprised that he’s doing so well with Arsenal and that they’re playing football at such a high level.

“Pep’s influence is of course very big because Mikel worked with Pep for several years. That’s why the gameplay is very similar. Therefore, the duel is perhaps more interesting than other duels.

“He’s really doing a great job and just extended his contract a few days ago. So, he will stay with Arsenal for a few more years and I am sure that they will continue to compete for the title in the next few years.

“If I could follow a similar path to Mikel in the future, that would be a stroke of luck.”

Man City target Celtic forward

Following the departure of Julian Alvarez to Atletico Madrid in the summer, City are in need of added firepower and they could get it from an unlikely source.

Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi has reportedly been on City’s radar for some time and their scouts watched him bring up his 75th goal for the Bhoys in their Champions League win over Slovan Bratislava this week.

Elsewhere, Bayern Munich are not giving up on tying Jamal Musiala to a new contract amid interest from City.

Reports suggest City, Chelsea and other interested parties have learnt about the ‘obstacles’ of a potential move for Musiala.

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