Kevin De Bruyne believes there are “a lot of similarities” between Arsenal and Manchester City as he discussed Mikel Arteta’s impact on the Gunners.
The Arsenal boss began his coaching career at City under Pep Guardiola, spending three years at the club as they won two Premier League titles and an FA Cup in that period.
While Arteta has had to come through some rocky periods in charge at the Emirates, his stock has never been higher with the Gunners top of the Premier League after a flying start to the season that has left them four points clear of City.
De Bruyne has first-hand experience of working with Arteta and feels the Spaniard has taken what he picked up at City to north London.
“No, not really,” De Bruyne told Sky Sports when asked if he was surprised at the work Arteta was doing at Arsenal.
“Obviously I see a lot of similarities with the way we play but that’s always been his style. When he stopped playing football and he had the opportunity to come here, I think it was for him a good learning school. We had some great years.
“I saw an evolution from the beginning with Mikel then after three years when he left. At the beginning he was adapting, but then he got more and more into his role.
“We saw he had a lot of ambition and that when the opportunity comes, he will take it.”
Arteta was a popular member of Guardiola’s coaching staff, with the City boss himself often full of praise when asked about the job his former assistant is doing at Arsenal.
De Bruyne joked that he wants Arteta to be a success at the Emirates, as long as the Gunners don’t get the better of City.
“I think it’s nice to see that he got the time from Arsenal, that’s a very difficult thing,” De Bruyne said.
“I’m happy for him that it’s going well, obviously you want people to do well. Hopefully they will just not be good enough for us!”
