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Ralf Rangnick has told Edinson Cavani he will not be allowed to leave Manchester United in the January transfer window.

The veteran Uruguay striker has been tipped to leave Old Trafford, with Barcelona among a number of European clubs said to have an interest in him.

Cavani’s leisurely departure from the field following Thursday’s 3-1 win over Burnley led to speculation that he had played his last game for the club – a notion that Rangnick rejected out of hand.

“We had quite a few conversations the last couple of weeks,” said Rangnick. “He’s probably the player with whom I’ve spoken the most. I told him the very first day, for me he is a highly important player.

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“He’s probably the only one who can play with his back to goal and facing the goal.

“And his professionalism, his work ethic is just amazing. I told him I desperately want him to stay until the end of the season.

“He knows that. He also knows how highly I rate him, how highly I respect him. That’s also the reason I played him against Burnley from the start with Cristiano [Ronaldo].”

Cavani’s future has possibly been influenced by the fact that United striker Anthony Martial has asked to leave the club this month with Rangnick appearing far more open to that possibility.

But despite the interim manager having claimed United had a large squad when he took over from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, he is no longer keen to trim it this month due to the Covid-19 crisis.

Cavani saying his goodbyes? ????pic.twitter.com/d0y79bH89b

— The United Stand (@UnitedStandMUFC) December 30, 2021

“It depends,” said Rangnick. “I know from some players they would want to leave but we spoke about Edinson and he knows I definitely would not let him go.

“For me, he is a highly important player for the rest of the season and we will definitely need him. I would rather have another Edi on top of that! For me, it is clear he will stay.

“Maybe the squad is a little too big with regard to numbers. But we still have COVID, we are still in three competitions so we could do with a bigger squad than in times without COVID.

“Anthony made it very clear he wants to leave and, in a way, I can understand his wish to leave and try and play more regularly.

“But again, it’s not a question of what he wants to do. It’s a question of what interest there is in him and the demands of this club. He’s not injured currently but I decided to go with those players currently in the squad (against Burnley).”

Another reason for Rangnick’s insistence that Cavani remains in his squad lies in the over-reliance currently being placed on 36-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo in attack.

The United manager has no qualms about selecting the veteran for a third game in eight days at home to Burnley on Monday but acknowledges the need to have Cavani as cover should the Portuguese need a rest at some stage.

“I don’t see any reason why he shouldn’t be able to play another game,” said Rangnick.

“Physically, he seems to be fit. He’s doing everything. He’s a top professional who looks after himself, his body, eats the right things. At the age of 36, I’ve never seen a player of his age – maybe [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic was a bit older, but he’s a different kind of player.

“I don’t see why he wouldn’t be able to play three games in eight days but if, at one stage, I need to rest him, it’s not a problem. Then it was even more important to have Edinson in the squad.”

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Arsenal produced arguably their best performance of the season on Saturday, while Manchester City produced arguably their worst. So naturally, it was City who took all three points at the Emirates.

The story of Arsenal’s season has been beating teams they are expected to beat but coming unstuck when matched with the Premier League‘s elite sides. Only three of Arsenal’s 11 league victories this campaign have come against those currently situated in the top half of the table: Tottenham (5th), West Ham (6th) and Leicester (9th).

Conversely, five of their seven losses have come against so-called Big Six rivals: Manchester City (twice), Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United. The other defeats occurred against Brentford, when the squad was hit by a Covid outbreak, and Everton, when the Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang saga was just beginning to unravel.

Those Big Six defeats were difficult to stomach for Arsenal fans: Mikel Arteta’s side were thoroughly outclassed by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, City at the Etihad and Liverpool at Anfield, and then shot themselves in the foot when losing to United at Old Trafford. This time was different though: frustration and apathy were replaced by righteous indignation and a rare sense of pride. Referee Stuart Atwell and by extension his VAR official Jarred Gillett were the subjects of Arsenal’s fans ire, not the absent Arteta (due to Covid) or his players. That in itself is proof of progress at a club that once booed off their own captain.

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Opinion will be split on whether the officials got the major decisions right, depending on whether they are viewed through the prism of fandom or not. Arsenal had an early penalty shout waved away when Ederson got a touch to the ball but appeared to clump Martin Odegaard in the process and were later punished in their own penalty box when Granit Xhaka tugged at Bernardo Silva’s shirt. Both incidents went to VAR, but only one was given. Those of an Arsenal persuasion will argue that if one was awarded, the other one should have been too.

There was also a sense of injustice over Gabriel Magalhaes’ first yellow card which initially appeared to be for scuffing up the penalty spot before Riyad Mahrez was about to take it, but i understands it was in fact given for dissent. Albert Stuivenberg, the Dutch assistant playing the role of Arteta for the day, was adamant that no “dirty language” had escaped the Brazilian’s lips. Even if Gabriel had been unfortunate to go into the book, his second yellow for a reckless barge on Gabriel Jesus by the halfway line, which arrived just 68 seconds after the first, was completely avoidable.

Arsenal fans may disagree, but the game changed around two individual mistakes: Xhaka’s foul on Silva and Gabriel’s second booking. It could be argued that Gabriel Martinelli’s gilt-edged miss, sandwiched between those two instances in a remarkable 118 seconds of play, also fit that criteria: in the form that the 20-year-old is in, it was mystifying that he fired his shot outside, rather than inside the post as the goal yawned in front of him.

And in that sense, this result typified a club that has routinely snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in the years since their Premier League glory days. If the result was typical of “banter era” Arsenal, the overall performance was anything but. Unusually for a loss, there wouldn’t have been much for the Arsenal Fan TV crew to get upset about. Up until that frantic few minutes, Arsenal had comfortably been the better team.

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They were brave on the ball and relentless off it: Martin Odegaard’s through passes were weighted to perfection; Bukayo Saka and Martinelli ran Nathan Ake and Joao Cancelo ragged on the flanks; Thomas Partey, who delivered his most assured performance in an Arsenal shirt made four tackles in the opening 24 minutes. They played with a speed and intensity that City simply could not match. Guardiola gesticulated frantically at his players for the entirety of the opening half an hour, like an exasperated parent trying to spring their kids into action on a school day.

Afterwards, he blamed the rigours of the fixture schedule, injuries and Covid absences for City’s lack of energy – and admitted Arsenal were the better side too.

But as good as the Gunners were, they failed to capitalise on Saka’s brilliantly well-taken opener. City were on the ropes and while Arsenal hit them with a couple of painful jabs, it was ultimately the visitors who landed the knockout blow. Experience won out over exuberance.

Arsenal, who have the youngest team in the Premier League, have plenty of reason for optimism, but until they pick up a statement victory they will continue to peer enviously at the big boys ahead of them. This was a golden opportunity wasted.

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West Ham closed the gap on Arsenal and the Champions League places to just a point as they eased past Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

Last-gasp defeat for fourth-placed Arsenal earlier in the day had left the door open for the Hammers to make up ground on Mikel Arteta’s side, and Manuel Lanzini’s penalty in the fifth minute of first-half stoppage time all but killing off Palace’s challenge.

They had started brightly, Jeffrey Schlupp hitting the post in the very first minute, but the visitors soon got into their stride and took the chances that Palace did not.

Vicente Guaita denied Michail Antonio from close range inside 10 minutes, he could not do so a second time after Said Benrahma’s perfectly bent delivery.

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Lanzini added West Ham’s second just three minutes later, seizing on a bouncing ball 12 yards out to fire the ball home and by the time Luka Milivojevic was adjudged by the VAR to have handled just inside the box, the game was well beyond them and Lanzini had a second from the spot.

Odsonne Edouard should have pulled one back before the break but could only hit the crossbar from 10 yards when the ball was pulled back to him.

Palace did eventually create a ray of hope, Edouard connecting with a Michael Olise cross in the 83rd minute, but it was far too little, too late – even when substitute Olise’s whipped free-kick then went all the way into the back of the net in the first minute of stoppage time.

West Ham player ratings

Lukas Fabianski – 7

Twice denied Benteke in the first half, once with his feet, once with his hands. Wasn’t often otherwise worked as Palace’s finishing left something to be desired.

Vladimir Coufal – 6.5

Fine first-time cross almost created opening goal for Antonio but did not see much of the ball as both sides

Craig Dawson – 7

Stood up to the predictable aerial assault and Benteke’s physicality well, but was let down by his central partner.

Issa Diop – 5

Was almost caught out in the first half as Palace started fast, then let Edouard get away from him far too easily to see his clean sheet bonus slip away and gave away a foul that cost his side a second goal in stoppage time.

Ben Johnson – 6.5

Caught out early on by the lively Schlupp who hit the post in the first minute when he probably should have scored, but got forward well. Got himself booked when caught in possession around halfway and was replaced at half-time with the Hammers well on top.

Declan Rice – 6.5

Incisive run opened up Palace midfield for second goal but did lose sight of Edouard when he made a late run into the box and hit the bar. His 150th Premier League appearance was not his best, but not his worst.

Tomas Soucek – 7

Crucial intervention just before half-time, pouncing on a loose ball as Benteke was preparing to lash it goalwards.

Jarrod Bowen – 6

Quiet game going forward as West Ham found much more virtue in attacking down the left-hand side. Will have better days.

Manuel Lanzini – 7.5

Wonderful skill to find snapshot on the volley 12 yards out to give West Ham a two-goal lead and then converted from the penalty spot

Said Benrahma – 7

Almost opened the scoring with a header and then an outstanding bending ball set up first goal. Faded a little and was replaced after 71 minutes.

Michail Antonio – 8

Forced a super save from Guaita in the 14th minute but eight minutes later could not be denied from close range. Might have had another, a regular threat. Becoming a really complete No 9.

Substitutes

Arthur Masuaku – 6

Was given a working over by Jordan Ayew who got in behind him once but recovered from shaky start to get a handle on the Palace forward. Was then up against Olise and reminded Hammers fans why they are so uncomfortable with him playing in a back four.

Nikola Vlasic – 5

Sloppily stood off Olise whose cross found Edouard and gave Palace a way back into the game. Would have been bad if he had played 82 minutes, given he was fresh legs it was extremely poor.

Mark Noble – n/a

Lanzini’s goal was pure joy

Sky Sports pundit Karen Carney

“The volley is just exceptional and I think it’s one of them where it’s like five a side football, and it just kind of comes to you – and it’s joy.

“He’s confident and he has just gone for it. It was a brilliant goal really from one end right to the other – and what West Ham have been is really, really clinical and ruthless.”

Vieira: We were naive, they were not

Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira cited the experience of the West Ham line-up as the reason his side were unable to convert more of their chances.

Palace outperformed their opponents on shots and expected goals (xG) but ended up with nothing to show for it, leaving Vieira to concede that “playing well is not good enough to win football matches”.

He added: “I’m really disappointed because I think today we were the better team. But the difference between the two sides is they’ve been building the team for a couple of years now and that is a mature team.

“So the experience of this team allowed them to win the game today. And at times, we were a little bit naive. We created chances where we were unlucky as well, because I think we had the best first chances in the game and we hit the post.

“We have to learn from those games, we have to improve.”

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Gabriel Magalhaes left Arsenal in the lurch at the Emirates after he was booked twice in three minutes to leave Manchester City playing against 10 men for the last half hour of their Premier League clash.

Arsenal had taken a deserved lead over the league leaders in the first half through Bukayo Saka’s left-footed strike.

That lead though was wiped out by Riyad Mahrez from the penalty spot just before the hour mark after a lengthy interruption from the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).

Gabriel then tried to scuff up the penalty spot before Mahrez took the kick, although it made little impact on the successful penalty, and was booked afterwards for dissent.

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Hard to accept it , but only God knows everything !
Proud to be part of this team!!! Amazing spirit !
We will keep working together , fighting until the end !! For this team I will run until I die !! Let’s keep improving in 2022!!! pic.twitter.com/kLAmmQEVLt

— Gabriel Magalhaes (@biel_m04) January 1, 2022

And almost directly from the restart, the centre-back was turned at pace by Gabriel Jesus and caught the striker with his arms, leaving referee Stuart Atwell with little choice other than to show the Arsenal defender his second yellow card.

“It’s ridiculous, isn’t it?” said former Liverpool, Man City and England winger Steve McManaman on BT Sport‘s coverage of the game, where it initially appeared the booking had been for his work on the penalty spot.

“He deserves it, Gabriel. Fancy getting a yellow card for scuffing the spot up.

“I mean, talk about ill discipline. Talk about effectively throwing the game away. They deserve it, I’m sorry.

“The team were flying and he’s now to done this to his 10 teammates, absolutely ridiculous.”

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The City goal triggered a frantic period in the game as the referee struggled to keep control of the game and two more Arsenal players were booked.

Arsenal legend Martin Keown said: “It’s about keeping your head. You have to, the majority of your career you have to do that, manage the games.

“And now of course it’s almost given the game to City.”

Two more centre-backs in the BT Sport studio were no less damning of Gabriel’s behaviour.

“This is stupid. This is immature. This is petulant,” said Rio Ferdinand.

Joleon Lescott added: “This is crazy decision-making. Emotions were high, I get that, but the worrying thing is that it didn’t surprise us. We’ve seen that before, and that will happen again.”

Keown added at the time: “Now with 10 it’s going to be very difficult for Arsenal to get anything out of this game.”

And Keown was right, as City midfielder Rodri poked home an injury-time winner.

Granit Xhaka was not happy after watching the replay of his challenge on Bernardo Silva… ????

Penalty given. Penalty scored to make it 1-1. pic.twitter.com/7dyG4pRR8D

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 1, 2022

“When you have already a yellow card, you have to control your emotions and be smart,” said Arsenal assistant manager Albert Stuivenberg, standing in for Mikel Arteta who was absent due to Covid.

“And I’m not sure why the first yellow card was given to Gabriel but I hear some different things about that, but it’s not important anymore. But if you have it of course you need to control your emotions. It’s something we need to learn.”

Stuivenberg later said that players had told him the yellow card was for dissent with Gabriel complaining about VAR’s failure in the first half to overturn the decision of the referee in the first half when City goalkeeper Ederson collided with Martin Odegaard, who, slow-motion replays showed, had got to the ball marginally before his opponent.

And after the break it was Bernardo Silva on the ground with the referee telling him to get him up – only for VAR Jarred Gillett to review the incident and tell Attwell to review what he saw as a clear and obvious error. He returned to the pitch to overturn his original decision and was confronted by Granit Xhaka, who was subsequently booked for his dissent.

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Arsenal 1-2 Manchester City (Saka, 31′; Mahrez (pen) 57′, Rodri 90+3′)

EMIRATES STADIUM — Manchester City came from behind to beat 10-man Arsenal at the Emirates with an injury time winner from Rodri bringing a dramatic end to a pulsating first Premier League game of 2022.

Bukayo Saka gave Arsenal a deserved lead in the first-half with a confidently taken finish, before Riyad Mahrez equalised from the penalty spot in the second and Rodri scored the winner in injury time. The result ensured that City extended their winning run in the Premier League and over Arsenal in the competition to 10 games. The absent Mikel Arteta will have been left hugely frustrated following an encouraging performance from his young side.

Chants of “VAR! VAR! VAR!” rang around the Emirates with 10 minutes on the clock when Ederson’s outstretched left foot sent Martin Odegaard tumbling. Australian VAR Jarred Gillet reviewed the incident and concluded, somewhat contentiously, that the Brazilian got his big toe to the ball first. New year, same old VAR controversy.

Not long after Ruben Dias went close to giving City the lead, beating Aaron Ramsdale to Raheem Sterling’s deep cross but glancing a header fractionally wide of the far post. The Portuguese howled at the sky in frustration and his exasperation was mirrored by Pep Guardiola on the touchline as Arsenal took control of the match, pinning their visitors deep inside their own half.

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Arsenal looked as though they were playing the game on double speed; they zipped the ball purposefully around City and descended on them like a swarm of red arrows when out of possession. A goal was the only thing missing and it duly arrived just past the half-hour mark when Saka swept home a first-time finish into the bottom corner after being found by Kieran Tierney.

Bukayo Saka with a perfectly placed first-time shot ????

Arsenal made a great start against City and it's their number seven who gets the goal! pic.twitter.com/OHWbeUBOOY

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 1, 2022

Gabriel Martinelli went close to doubling Arsenal’s advantage twice before the half-time whistle. The Brazilian whipped an effort fractionally over the bar with his first attempt and then prodded the ball inches wide with his second after a frantic run had taken him from the halfway line to the edge of City’s six-yard-box in a matter of seconds.

Player ratings

An inability to find a second goal cost Arsenal, who endured a nightmarish spell before the hour mark. First Mahrez equalised from the spot after Granit Xhaka had been adjudged to have hauled Bernardo Silva to the ground; then Martinelli missed a gilt-edged chance to restore Arsenal’s lead after Nathan Ake had scooped the ball off the goal-line; and finally, Gabriel Magalhaes was shown a second yellow card for fouling Gabriel Jesus. There were just 118 seconds between Mahrez’s penalty hitting the net and Gabriel’s red card.

Man City win it LATE at The Emirates ????

Rodri shoves the ball home and sparks wild celebrations…

11 wins in a row! pic.twitter.com/H9gaKAYqgo

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 1, 2022

From that point on City dominated proceedings, although Guardiola will have been left frustrated at the lack of clearcut chances his side were able to create during the final half an hour. Finally, midway through the six minutes of additional time, Rodri prodded the winner beyond Aaron Ramsdale after Aymeric Laporte’s attempted effort had deflected into his path.

It was a fortuitous victory for City, as Guardiola acknowledged afterwards. “They were better,” he told BT Sport. “We faced a team that in the last years has struggled to be in the top four and they started this season in the bottom, bottom, bottom.

“And [now] they are in the top four and had six, seven days after Norwich, we had two days and a half and Brentford was so tough and we didn’t have energy. It was difficult, we didn’t have energy. We tried and tried and in the second half in one minute it changed.”

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McManaman: Lack of discipline cost Arsenal

“It’s ridiculous, isn’t it?” said former Liverpool, Man City and England winger Steve McManaman on BT Sport’s coverage of the game.

“He deserves it, Gabriel. Fancy getting a yellow card for scuffing the spot up. I mean, talk about ill-discipline. Talk about effectively throwing the game away. They deserve it, I’m sorry.

“The team were flying and he’s now to done this to his 10 teammates, absolutely ridiculous.”

Rodri: We showed a champion’s mentality

“They are an unbelievable team. They showed why they are in that position [in the table]. The way they go with Mikel [Arteta] is huge,” said the match-winner Rodri to BT Sport after the game.

“They did a great game, but fortunately, we showed our personality. A champion’s personality, so we want to go again. We learned from past years that you have to push always, no matter what happens.

92:28 – Rodri's goal, timed at 92:28, is @ManCity's latest winning goal in a @premierleague match since Gabriel Jesus v Southampton in May 2018 (93:01), a goal which took the Citizens to 100 points in the 2017-18 season. Drama. pic.twitter.com/8jBbS3BVdp

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 1, 2022

“We were 1-0 down in the break and then suddenly things changed because of our mentality. We didn’t do a great game, but we pushed, we never dropped and we thought it was positive.

“I don’t know what I was doing there, Laporte also, but three more points is vital for us.”

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When Norwich City sold an Academy prospect earlier this season, they had a decision to make.

Use the money to invest in the first team on player wages or transfers – or look to the long term in the face of increasing pressure to compete in the Premier League?

The Canaries don’t have a billionaire backer and success needs to be sustainable, so a collective call was made to use the extra funds to invest in a £250,000 state-of-the-art training aid at their Colney base called the Soccerbot360.

The computerised football simulator – made famous by Ralf Rangnick after he introduced it at RB Leipzig – helps speed up reaction times and increases sharpness, with Borussia Dortmund swearing by their own version of the machine. Norwich are the first club in England to take the plunge, and will use it for every age group from under-9s.

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With Norwich struggling at the bottom of the league, it’s the sort of call that increasingly dominates boardroom discussions. Do we go big now – or look after the long-term?

It is a conversation that strikes right to the heart of the role of the sporting director, a job that has become increasingly vital to English football after years in which it was viewed with mistrust.

In the Premier League, 18 clubs have someone in that role and another – Newcastle – is about to appoint one. Most of their names are known to fans but they rarely swipe the headlines and most prefer to maintain a relatively low profile.

But as we approach the transfer window, it’s worth knowing that a fair proportion of the heavy lifting before deals are announced will have been done by sporting directors and their team of staff before the player’s jazzy announcement video lands on Twitter.

“In previous generations the director of football role wasn’t understood very well – in fact, we got away from the term because of the negative connotations that it had and trying to include technical or sporting director,” Mike Rigg, the founder and association executive of the Association of Sporting Directors (ASD), tells i.

“Now people realise how big the operations of a football club are. Some of these Category One academies have in excess of 60 full-time members of staff and all of the technical or sporting directors in the job have to sit between supporting the manager to be successful now but secondly, building a more sustainable business model that keeps the club going in the future.

“The red flag in the past was over player signings. Who is signing this player? Is it you, the manager, or the director of football?

“I’ve never come across a model in my entire career when the technical or sporting director is signing players and telling the manager ‘this is what you’ve got’. Every director I work with is about giving the manager ‘first and last’.

“First is – what do you want or need? What is the profile and position? They go and do their work and come back with, say, five options. We think the number one is the best option but there’s alternatives.

“It’s not this battle of power anymore. Now the relationships are close and there’s real trust there. Where it goes pear-shaped is when clubs don’t have that relationship.”

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Rigg is a vastly experienced operator, one of the men who helped create the modern-day Manchester City as Head of Player Acquisition in an era when they built a team that would go on to win the Premier League. He was also Technical Director at QPR and held similar roles at Fulham and Burnley, along with being Head of Talent ID at the Football Association.

He speaks with real authority about a role he’s done in various guises, from the early days building – symbolically and literally – Manchester City’s impressive City Group to being part of the process that saw Fulham promote Ryan Sessegnon to the first team as a 17-year-old when Slavisa Jokanovic was petitioning for a left-back signing to push the Cottagers over the line in promotion to the Premier League.

Football’s transformation in the last decade has seen data revolutionise the sport. Wyscout and inStat mean a wealth of video resources of players all over the world for clubs at every level to tap into.

The manager can’t be across all of that – and sporting directors are often responsible for overseeing it.

“One of the biggest challenges is that balance. You have the ownership and leadership at the top and what they want is to be successful and a long-term sustainable success,” he says.

“I always remember (at Manchester City) Khaldoon Al Mubarak was so enthusiastic about youth development. He never got the credit for it. They do write a cheque and support the manager that way but he also had a passion for youth development and bringing players through in that way.

“The manager cannot afford to take his eye off the next game and win so the sporting director has to have foot in both camps. They know they’re only going to be successful if their manager is winning games. But you’ve got to balance that off against future opportunities to support the club.”

The Norwich story throws a light on how some of the best operators work.

That they opted for something to benefit the long-term is no surprise to those who realise the importance of sporting director Stuart Webber at the club.

Webber is an example of someone treading the line between the club’s long-term interests and the need to deliver on-the-field success. The Soccerbot won’t win points, but it’s benefits could be measured

“It’s fascinating, what you see at Norwich. They sold a player – a youth player – and part of the discussion was ‘How are we going to invest this money long-term?’” Rigg says.

“They could have bought a player but they decided to invest in something which will improve their players over the long-term. We had an opportunity courtesy of Stuart of going down and seeing this thing in action.

“What I thought initially would be a gimmick to start off with was actually far from it. It was really interesting to see how they were going to use it to develop their players.”

The Association of Sporting Directors was set up to share knowledge and best practice and it’s brought executives together from all over the globe. It’s also helped lance a few misconceptions about the role.

“The sport has changed so much in the last five to ten years,” he says.

“I was talking to Jamie Fullarton, who is Technical Director at Walsall and has a coaching and managerial background but he is adamant that it’s not what he wants to do anymore – so if at any point our manager goes to Benfica or somewhere, he’s not stepping in to that job because it’s not what he wants to do,” Rigg says.

“If you look at the profile of people who do the job, it’s so wide and varied now. You’ve got Rebecca Caplehorn who comes from an accountancy background and is really good on the governance and regulations and organisation.

“Then you’ve got Dan Ashworth, who was a qualified school teacher, then you’ve got Brian Marwood who was a player. You’ve got a really diverse background of people in that role now and there are some really good people doing it now.

“People like Michael Edwards – you won’t see them on back pages or Sky Sports, it’s not what they do. But they are helping to get things moving at their clubs and when they get it right, you can see how well it works.”

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Pep Guardiola believes Mikel Arteta has created the best Arsenal team he has managed against and has labelled his friend the Gunners’ “most important player.”

Arteta will actually be missing when his team kicks off 2022 by welcoming the in-form league leaders at lunchtime on Saturday due to Covid-19.

But, with or without Arteta, Guardiola believes his former Manchester City assistant has turned Arsenal into a serious contender for honours and will offer him a stiff test as City seek an 11th consecutive league victory.

“I would say Mikel is the most important player they have,” said Guardiola. “I know his charisma and ideas and especially, his personality to do what he believes is the best for the team and the club.

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“No doubts about that. The most important thing is for him to stay well, the symptoms were low, everything is under control and he recovers and after the protocols he comes back to the place he loves, on the touchline and the sessions.

“But I know exactly which Arsenal is going to play, with or without Mikel. Since I arrived here, it is the best Arsenal I have ever seen in six seasons.

“That is why they are going to play with the people who support him. It will be a challenge for us but we have an incredible opportunity to maintain the distance and continue our run.”

The City manager credited Arteta with having changed the culture at the Emirates in a managerial reign that has had difficult moments and even seen his future questioned.

“It’s the best Arsenal, it’s not a secret,” said Guardiola. “They are in the top four. The energy they are playing with and the good ideas that Mikel has. To settle something you need time and I have the feeling that he changed the team, the club.

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“He changed the club. I am pretty sure he felt for many things, the way it started in Arsenal and maybe was not good and step by step he is doing well. So maybe right now we are going to face one of the one or two best teams in the Premier League right now in the best form.”

Guardiola has now compiled a league winning streak of 10 games for the fourth time in his City career – in comparison, no other manager has had more than two such runs in Premier League history.

The Catalan insists he does not dwell on such statistics and tries to retain balance in the good and bad times – a recipe that has certainly worked in his time with the champions.

“Thinking about the long runs is a stupid thing to think about, how many games,” he said. “It’s just – what’s next, be ready and the most important thing is the desire and the commitment.

“The team has to say, yeah, I want to do it, I want to go there, and try to go again and try to win the game. Everyone makes their incredible contribution and that is why we are where we are. It’s an unexpected situation.

“Not even a month ago we were four or five or six points behind Chelsea and Liverpool but we have 54 points more to play for.

“We are going to lose a game, because it’s going to happen, be calm, relax and try again, and next one, and try again. So don’t be extremely satisfied when the situation is going good and not extremely depressed when it isn’t.

“Because with this amount of games and all the competitions – and I learned a little bit last season because of the Covid situation – being relaxed is the best way to approach the next one.”

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