The Spanish connection! Mikel Arteta explains why he 'identifies' with fellow big-name managers Pep Guardiola & Xabi Alonso

Arteta was asked by Mundo Deportivo if he identifies with the coaching and tactical styles utilised by fellow Spaniards Pep Guardiola and Xabi Alonso, in charge of Manchester City and Real Madrid respectively. Arteta replied that he did because he knows both men "very well".

"I identify with them in many ways," Arteta said. "First, because we've played in the same position, but also because I know them both very well.

"I played with Xabi, and I've known Pep since I was 15 and worked with him for four years. I identify with his style of play, his game plan, his vision, his way of carrying himself...everything.

"I don't like to compare [them with each other]; they are two very similar ideas executed in very different ways. I have my own."

Arteta first encountered Alonso in the summer of 2004 when he joined home town club Real Sociedad, signed so that the pair could play together. It was only brief, as Alonso was quickly sold to Liverpool, although they did soon share some common ground on opposite sides of the Merseyside divide after Arteta moved to Everton at the start of 2005. His relationship with Guardiola goes back further and deeper. When Arteta joined Barcelona's famed La Masia in 1997, Guardiola was a superstar of the first-team and perhaps the most revered academy graduate at that point in the club's history. He left Camp Nou in 2001 but sought out Arteta 15 years later when first assembling his coaching staff at Manchester City.

Into his seventh season as a Premier League manager, Arteta will do battle Guardiola again as soon as September 21, when Manchester City visit in the Emirates Stadium. The reverse fixture in Manchester is scheduled for April 18. Arteta could also face Alonso in the coming months, but only if the Gunners meet Real Madrid in the Champions League, either in the league phase or knockout rounds. The draw for the former will take place on August 28.