'My feeling was always...' - Arsenal's Mikel Arteta reveals true thoughts on Bayern Munich boss Vincent Kompany after coaching former defender at Man City

Arteta and Kompany share a relationship rooted in mutual respect and a shared football philosophy, developed during their time at Manchester City between 2016 and 2019. Arteta was an assistant coach under Pep Guardiola, while Kompany was the club captain, a period during which they won multiple domestic titles together. 

Both men have spoken highly of each other's coaching potential and leadership qualities. Arteta has described Kompany as a leader with a "special aura" and great ideas, even suggesting Kompany was "already a coach when he played". Kompany, in turn, has praised Arteta's passion, intelligence, and the "incredible" work he has done at Arsenal, stating he is not surprised by his success. 

They have a good relationship and often discussed football and future management careers during their time at City. They both follow a similar, possession-based style of play influenced by Guardiola, and will pit their teams against each other on Wednesday evening in north London.

Arteta said at his pre-match press conference: "My feeling was always that Vinnie will be excellent at whatever he chooses to do. I'm very happy that things are going well for him. He has a lot of presence, intelligence, love for the game. I'm not surprised at all."

And on the size of the task facing the Gunners against Bayern, who also have a 100 percent win record in the competition this season, Arteta said: "Every opponent brings different challenges, obviously. They are in a great moment. The level of consistency they show in results, performances, in every metric that they have, it’s very, very impressive. We know that, but as well that’s a massive opportunity as well for us to show what we are capable of. 

He added: "This is the kind of game in the competition that we want to face, and we’ve been very consistent in both competitions, and as you mentioned they have as well. Tomorrow is a great test for us to see where we are. We know the importance of the match, we are in a really strong position and we want to maintain that and we know that we have a beautiful and very demanding game ahead of us."

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And Kompany spoke very highly of Arteta, saying: "When I look at how Mikel has developed his team and developed himself, they play with great physicality. He works with great attention to detail with his teams, which have very few weaknesses. That's Mikel's character. Pep Guardiola is a dominant figure and has played a big role in our careers. I'm forever grateful. But both teams are quite different as well, which makes tomorrow's game special."

Arsenal are the only team yet to concede a goal in the competition, while Bayern boast a formidable attack led by former Tottenham star Harry Kane, who has historically tormented the Gunners. Mikel Arteta's side enters the match in excellent form, fresh off a dominant 4-1 north London derby victory over Spurs. They are expected to welcome back captain Martin Odegaard from injury, though key forwards Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, and Viktor Gyokeres remain sidelined. Bayern are also dealing with injuries, including Jamal Musiala and Alphonso Davies.