Mikel Arteta Maintains Clear Conscience Amid Manchester City’s Financial Probe

Mikel Arteta says his conscience is clear regarding Manchester City’s serious breaches of financial regulations.

An independent commission determined that Manchester City artificially inflated their revenue by £830 million between the 2009/10 and 2017/18 seasons. The club has lodged an appeal and denies any wrongdoing.

The probe covered the two seasons Arteta spent as Pep Guardiola’s assistant, yet the Arsenal manager answered “yes” to a question about his conscience during an otherwise guarded press conference.

Arteta, who signed a new four‑year contract as Arsenal manager that week, faced numerous questions about the City verdict but repeatedly declined to comment further until the appeal’s outcome is known.

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“The thing is that this has been going on for many years,” he said.

“I believe the process needs to be resolved, and we must trust those in charge to act within the timeframe they deem best for everyone,” he added.

Arteta spent three and a half seasons working alongside Guardiola, including the 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons when City secured back‑to‑back Premier League titles, an FA Cup and two League Cups, before moving to Arsenal in 2019.

The commission also found that City inflated their sponsorship income by £264.3 million during the 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons, a period that saw high‑profile signings such as John Stones, Aymeric Laporte, Bernardo Silva, Ederson and Kyle Walker.

When asked whether his memories of working at City had been tainted, Arteta declined to comment.

Asked if he was pleased to have secured the Premier League title for Arsenal before the verdict, he said: “I feel proud and very emotional thinking about how we won it and the moments we shared. It’s a unique and genuine feeling for me.”

Arteta Insists Premier League Remains the World’s Best Competition

Arteta insisted the Premier League will remain “100 percent” the best league in the world, despite concerns over integrity raised by the City verdict.

“It’s the best league in the world for many reasons,” he added.

“I’ve been here for over 20 years and it will continue to be the best league in the world. I feel privileged to be where I am,” he continued.

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“There are a few clubs that have been extremely good at managing resources intelligently, and we suffered from that a few weeks ago with a defeat to Brighton,” he said.

However, after Nottingham Forest manager Oliver Glasner suggested the Premier League had been “damaged” by the findings against City, Arteta acknowledged he was uncertain about the effect on the competition’s global reputation.

“I want to think that it doesn’t damage the Premier League, but I don’t know,” he said. “Certainly, it’s beyond our control.

“What we can control is to bring our best to the club and maintain our position to keep the Premier League as the best in the world,” he added.

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