Arteta claims Premier League still the best despite Man City ruling

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Mikel Arteta has given his first reaction to Manchester City being found guilty of all charges in their long-running financial breaches case, insisting the Premier League remains the best in the world regardless of the outcome.

An independent commission ruled that City breached the league's financial regulations between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons, finding the club guilty on every charge they faced. City have appealed the decision, maintaining the ruling contains what they describe as "clear material errors, of law, principle and fact" and is "unsafe". It remains unclear when a final resolution will arrive, or whether it could cast a shadow over this season's title race.

Arteta backs the league's reputation

Asked directly whether he still viewed the Premier League as the best in the world in light of the verdict, Arteta did not hesitate. "100%," he said, before expanding on why he still holds that view.

"It is the best league in the world in my opinion, yes, for many reasons and as well because I've been here for over 20 years and it will continue to be the best league in the world," Arteta said, as quoted by the Evening Standard. "And again, I feel privileged to be where I am. The fact that there are other clubs that they've been extremely good at managing the resources in such an intelligent and efficient way is good because it has increased the competition and we saw that a few weeks ago already."

The Arsenal manager has a unique vantage point on City's rise, having spent three years on Pep Guardiola's coaching staff between 2016 and 2019 before taking the Arsenal job. He also faced City as a player during part of the period covered by the charges, and has since gone head-to-head with them in multiple title races as a manager.

Reluctant to be drawn further

Despite his willingness to defend the Premier League's standing, Arteta was careful not to comment further on the specifics of the verdict itself, pointing to City's ongoing appeal.

"I think it's very important that we respect the process, the timelines, and it's still an ongoing process that is not resolved because it's been appealed," he said. "My position, and I think the club's position, is not to make any further comments until this is fully resolved."

Arteta also said the matter had not come up internally with his players since their return from the international break. "There is nothing in our hands," he said. "The only thing that we can do is focus on everything that we can do to be as we possibly can and to be better than any other opponent and that's where we put the energy."

When asked whether the league's integrity could be compromised if the case remains unresolved by the end of the season, Arteta added: "The people are responsible to manage this process and to come to the right conclusions and I'm sure it will be done and it will be resolved in the right way. We have to trust that."

With City's appeal still pending and no clear timeline for a final decision, the situation looks set to remain a talking point throughout the rest of the campaign.