The Manchester City boss is set to appoint a new assistant this summer following the Arsenal manager’s departure at the end of 2019
Whatever happens in the first post-coronavirus transfer window, there will be at least one new arrival at Manchester City – a new number two for Pep Guardiola.
The Premier League champions had been looking to bring in a number of new faces on the field during the off-season after falling behind Liverpool in their title challenge, but uncertainty remains over how the Covid-19 shutdown will affect football finances and impact on signings.
Guardiola, though, still has a vacancy in his backroom staff following the departure of Mikel Arteta to Arsenal, and has been waiting until the end of the season to address it.
Filling the position is not as simple as getting a disciple of the Guardiola philosophy. Members of his team are expected to make decisions and challenge the Catalan’s opinions. Arteta was originally identified for those qualities and was a big influence on City’s back-to-back title seasons in 2017-18 and 18-19.
The former Arsenal and Everton midfielder had a strong relationship with first-team players and worked individually with them to help them improve – most notably with Raheem Sterling – but his analysis of opponents and strong relationship with his manager helped give City an extra edge.
His exit was expected sooner or later due to his obvious ability, but Guardiola did not want to jump into appointing an immediate replacement midway through a campaign.