Mikel Arteta refuses comment on Manchester City legal charges

Mikel Arteta Refuses to Engage on Etihad Legal Drama

Mikel Arteta has once again declined to discuss Manchester City’s ongoing legal battle with the Premier League. Asked directly about the case this week, the Arsenal manager kept his answers short and steered well clear of any judgement on his former employers.

The Mikel Arteta Man City charges saga keeps resurfacing whenever he faces the media, and his response rarely changes. It is an understandable position. Arteta spent three years working inside the Etihad Stadium before taking the Arsenal job in December 2019, and he has shown no interest in commenting on a legal process that does not involve him or his current club.

Unpacking the Unconfirmed Reports and Ongoing Premier League Process

Reports have claimed Manchester City were found guilty of all but one of the 115 charges brought against them by the Premier League, according to media reports. Those claims remain unconfirmed. Neither the Premier League nor Manchester City have confirmed any verdict, and the process that began in February 2023 is still running.

The charges themselves relate to alleged financial breaches between 2009 and 2018. Manchester City have always denied wrongdoing, and the club has pushed back publicly against the recent wave of speculation. In a statement, the club said:

“The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality. As such Manchester City FC’s position remains consistent with the club’s statement of February 2023. The club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis the Premier League board and executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair minded regulator, free from partisan influence.”

That statement makes clear the process is far from finished. The Mikel Arteta Man City charges question refuses to disappear, even as Manchester City insist confidentiality still applies. Until an official outcome is announced, any talk of a verdict is speculation, and the reported comments from Mikel Arteta remain the only word from anyone connected to Arsenal on the matter.

Arteta’s Etihad Tenure and Statements Under the Spotlight

Arteta worked as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City from 2016 until December 2019, when he left to take charge at Arsenal. During those three years on the Etihad training ground, he sat close to the heart of the club’s operation as it rose to domestic dominance.

When the charges were first announced in February 2023, Arteta was asked whether he had seen anything untoward during his time there. He gave a blunt answer.

“No.”

He was equally guarded when reporters pressed him for more detail at the time. “I’m not going to make any comment on that I’m sorry,” he said. That short, polite refusal has remained his default response whenever the subject comes up again.

Focusing on Arsenal as Premier League Legal Process Continues

A year on from the charges being issued, Arteta was asked once more for his thoughts. His view was that the matter sits entirely outside his remit. “That’s something for the authorities to manage. It’s not for us,” he said, drawing a clear line between his job and the regulator’s.

He has taken the same stance on Manchester City’s continued participation in matches while the case rumbles on. “If they’re playing that means they can play and they are entitled to play. That’s it,” Arteta said, again refusing to be drawn any further into the debate.

That reluctance reflects a manager focused squarely on his own dressing room rather than a legal process he cannot influence. Arsenal have plenty to occupy them this season, from the ambition Piero Hincapie outlined when setting new season targets in pre-season to the praise from opposition managers that has followed recent results in the Carabao Cup. Selection matters closer to home, including the lineup confirmation against Brighton, are the kind of detail Arteta prefers to discuss.

Until the Premier League concludes its process, Manchester City’s case will keep generating headlines and speculation. Arteta has made his position plain: it is not his to judge, and his focus stays on Arsenal.