Pep Gurdiola raised a military salute to Arsene Wenger calls him commander-in-chief

To emphasise the point, Pep Guardiola raised his right hand and gave a military salute. Arsene Wenger is, he acknowledged, the commander-in-chief. A man to be respected. An adversary to be defeated on the battlefield when Arsenal roll into the Etihad on Sunday.

It was an English reference the Spaniard has picked up from watching his favourite show House of Cards.

'He's the boss, no?' said Guardiola. 'He's the chief for Arsenal. I saw many Netflix series and that's why. Commander-in-chief and colonel, I use a lot. He has been here a long time. What happens at a club such as Arsenal, it's because a person is doing a good job.

'I understand it's not easy to win the Premier League, but I have a lot of respect about his career. I've said many times that I admire the way he tries to play and especially the quality of players they buy.'

The Manchester City manager's deference was understandable. After all, Guardiola was just starting out playing in Barcelona's youth team in 1984 when Wenger (below) began his coaching career in France the same year.

Since following the Frenchman into management, their playing styles and commitment to a beautiful, passing game have inevitably been compared.

It is one of the reasons tomorrow's meeting of the third and fourth placed teams in the Premier League is so compelling.

But when it was put to Guardiola that Arsenal's failure to mix their panache with a degree of pragmatism is to blame for Wenger not winning the title for 12 years, he was quick to point out that his teams have never displayed a soft centre.

'I am pragmatic,' he said. 'Look at my past, I am so pragmatic. I'm here because I won. I want to win. I'm so pragmatic, guys. Concede few goals and score goals. Now I am living here so I have to adapt that, but the principle isn't going to change. Every day that passes, I am more convinced what I want to do.

'I would like to finish the season with the team playing how I want. Always I am there, on the bench, and we are spectators. When I am sitting there, I want to stand up, looking at my team and what I see is what I want.' The statistics back up Guardiola's point. In the eight years since he went into coaching, he has won 21 trophies — albeit with two dominant clubs in Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

In that time, Wenger has won the FA Cup twice. Guardiola has eliminated Arsenal from the Champions League on all three occasions he has come up against Wenger in the knockout stages, twice with Barca and once with Bayern.

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