Pep Guardiola final Jurgen Klopp request is closer to Man City reality

Mikel Arteta was asked recently, with the pain of Arsenal finishing runners-up again to Manchester City still hurting, whether they had to wait for the Blues to drop more points in future seasons.

He could have gone down a route he had already hinted at, that life in the Premier League will be different for everybody once Pep Guardiola leaves. It is only slowly dawning across the nation that it is City's manager and not simply money that is responsible for such high points tallies, and as it stands he is only likely to be here for one more year.

The Arsenal boss could have scored instant points with his fanbase by bringing up the 115 charges facing City, citing potential points deductions or even expulsion that would leave the Gunners in a prime position to take advantage. Jurgen Klopp used his Liverpool farewell to joke about having a parade if they were retrospectively awarded titles, so there was already precedent.

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Instead, Arteta responded as winners do. "We have to better them," he started. "We are closer - when you see all the metrics, we are right there. We have been the best team in the league in almost every metric but there is a margin there that somehow we didn't control well enough and the league is gone.

"That is the level. It is inspiring and challenging to have a team with such quality and consistency and our focus is on how we can improve."

That mentality will get Arsenal much further than relying on City or any other external circumstances and adds to Guardiola's belief that Arteta will be the one that carries on Klopp's legacy at Liverpool. The City boss