A likeable “nemesis” and a man with “direct influence” on the clubs around him. The builder of a “juggernaut” but not the Premier League’s greatest.
There is hope of a power shift in Manchester, while on Merseyside some hope
It has felt like there have been two weights lifted off me in the past few days. The first is Arsenal’s Premier League title win and the other is news that Guardiola is leaving. My nightmare is over.
I would like to firstly thank Guardiola for remaining at the club long enough for Arsenal to finally triumph over him, as it makes the victory so much sweeter.
His City side have caused me so much grief, especially over the past few seasons, that I am celebrating his departure.
I am self-aware enough to realise that a lot of my negativity towards Guardiola is purely jealousy. Jealousy at the juggernaut he has created that, up until this week, nearly always had the beating of Arsenal. Jealousy at the winning mentality he seems to instil in every one of his sides.
At times, his City sides have been a painful reminder of quite how far Arsenal were from winning anything.
In time, I might be able to look back and appreciate the magnitude of his achievements, but so many of them have come at the expense of my beloved Arsenal that it is still too raw at the moment. And if I sound bitter, it is because I am.
It is hard to imagine a league without Guardiola. His departure leaves a vacuum for another side to fill with their own domination. I very much hope that side are Arsenal.
‘Direct influence on events at clubs around him’
Chelsea fan Will Faulks can be found at Chelsea News
It is common to remember where you were when major world events happen – and it is a sign of how momentous the news of Guardiola coming to the Premier League was that I remember I was checking my phone between sets in a tennis match when it broke.
For Chelsea fans, the Guardiola era of dominance has coincided with their own team’s decline.
Beating his City team at Etihad Stadium in his first season was one of the most memorable results in recent Chelsea history – and it was the moment Antonio Conte’s team secured the title.
Despite the joy, there was a sense that day that Chelsea, while worthy winners of the Premier League, were facing an incomplete Guardiola team who would not make the same mistakes again.
That sense proved to be accurate. City have since won six titles since and Chelsea have not seriously competed for one.
Guardiola’s unparalleled effects on football as a whole are well documented, but what is less obvious is his direct influence on events at clubs around him.
In recent years some managers at Chelsea have been sacked for failing to compete with him, while others have departed for failing to emulate him.
The briefings about incoming manager Xabi Alonso this week claim that a major factor in the decision to appoint him was that his football has a direct link to the style played by Enzo Maresca, who has shaped this current squad.
Maresca is one of Guardiola’s disciples and a former assistant of his.
It is a reminder that the ‘identity’ that Chelsea’s sporting directors are trying to establish is a direct link back to Guardiola and his immeasurable impact on English football.