Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta declared that his conscience is clear regarding his previous stint at Manchester City, after an independent commission ruled that the club had committed serious financial violations spanning nine seasons.
The panel determined that City ran a concealed funding arrangement between the 2009/10 and 2017/18 campaigns, inflating the club's reported income by figures that different reports place at more than £830 million to over £900 million, partly through what was described as sham agreements with sponsors.
Arteta served as Pep Guardiola's assistant at the Etihad Stadium from 2016 to 2019, a period that overlaps with roughly two years of the timeframe covered by the guilty verdict. There is no indication that Arteta himself was involved in any misconduct, and he departed to take the Arsenal manager's job in 2019. Since then, his side have emerged as City's closest rivals for Premier League supremacy over four consecutive campaigns.
Speaking to reporters for the first time since the commission's findings were made public, Arteta largely avoided offering his opinion on the matter, repeatedly stressing that the process must run its course given City's decision to appeal the ruling. Yet when a reporter pushed him directly—noting his senior role at the club during the period in question and asking plainly whether his conscience was clear—Arteta broke from his guarded stance with a single, direct word: "Yes."
That brief answer stood out as the only moment in more than 30 minutes of questioning where he strayed from his otherwise cautious messaging. Elsewhere, he declined to elaborate further, including when asked whether he had been in contact with Guardiola about the ruling. "I prefer not to answer those questions," he said.
On the broader implications of the case, Arteta maintained that discretion was necessary while the matter remains unresolved following City's appeal. "It is very difficult to express how I feel, because it is not resolved. When it is resolved I can talk with clarity and tell you exactly how I feel," he explained, adding that authorities overseeing the case needed to be trusted to reach conclusions on their own timeline.
When pressed on whether swift resolution was needed to protect the credibility of the Premier League, Arteta again refused to be drawn into specifics, saying only that those responsible would handle it appropriately. He also stated he still believes, without reservation, that the Premier League remains the finest competition in world football, though he admitted uncertainty over how the case might be shaping outside perceptions of the division.
There remains no confirmed timeline for when City's appeal will be settled or what punishment, if any, the club might ultimately face. A heavy points deduction or transfer restrictions could dramatically alter the title picture and potentially benefit Arsenal, who currently trail City by three points at the top of the table. Still, Arteta dismissed the idea that his team required such developments as extra motivation, insisting the Gunners have already been pushing at maximum intensity throughout his seven years at the helm.
"We control our accelerator, and believe me, for seven years, it's been full gas in everything that we can do," Arteta said, underlining his team's focus as they prepare to host fifth-placed Leeds at the Emirates this weekend.
Based on reporting from Standard Football and BBC Sport.