Arsene Wenger says he turned down the chance to sign Pep Guardiola because he was past the prime of his career as a player, and downplayed the Spaniard's impact on modern football ahead of their meeting in Sunday's Carabao Cup final.
Wenger and Guardiola will go head to head at Wembley as Arsenal face Manchester City for the first of two back-to-back games between the clubs. They were originally meant to play each other in the league on Sunday, a game that has now been rescheduled for Thursday at the Emirates.
And it easily could have been a case of master against pupil had things turned out differently nearly two decades ago.
Wenger revealed recently that Guardiola visited his house looking for a move to Arsenal after he left Barcelona back in 2001. But the midfielder had already reached 30 by then and Wenger said his age was a factor in turning him down.
"He was over the top of his career already, and I had top-class players in these positions," Wenger said, but added that he admired Guardiola as a player. "Yes. It was the quality of his decision making, the quality of his distribution, and he played a very quick passing game, which is always our DNA."
Wenger also hailed Guardiola as "a great manager," but said he didn't agree with the notion that the Spaniard has changed the game and raised the bar in modern football.
EmoticonEmoticon