Former colleagues. Master and apprentice. Title rivals.

Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta’s relationship has cut across a range of strands over the years – and evolved along with their managerial styles.

The pair go head to head at Etihad Stadium on Sunday in a match many have billed as a Premier League title decider. A win for Guardiola and second-placed Manchester City would cut the lead of Arteta’s Arsenal side to just three points, with a game in hand.

The Spaniards’ relationship started in 1997 when Arteta joined Barcelona’s academy – meeting his idol, Barca skipper and fellow midfielder Guardiola. Their time as team-mates was brief, but a friendship was forged.

Communication between the two managers cooled significantly when Arteta gave up his role as Guardiola’s assistant in Manchester back in 2019 to take charge of Arsenal.

While the City boss’ other former assistants maintained closer contact, Arteta stepped away – and that distance created silence.

Guardiola appreciates those that give and take continuously, but if that is not clearly expressed, relationships can fracture even without a clear conflict. Arteta is someone who moves forward without being dependent on past professional bonds.

Contact was eventually re-established in the last year and tensions eased. Nobody wants to say who made the first call, but they speak again.

They are now competing for the same trophies but, at the same time, recognise the strength of the friendship, and both suffer in that solitary place that is managing a football team at the very top.

There was a time when Spanish football on Sunday evenings became a kind of ritual for coaches across Europe when the Guardiola-led Barcelona were in action. For 90 minutes everyone tried to understand what they were watching.

Liverpool-born Andy Mangan, opposition scout for Brazil this summer, remembers it as an education.

“At first I didn’t understand what he was doing,” said Mangan. “But every week he would identify a space to attack, and every Sunday you watched those players play with joy. We were kids but it was inadvertently a vital learning period of so many coaches’ lives.”

Guardiola built a successful team, but he also created a new way of winning.

Pep Segura, former director of football at Barcelona and ex-Liverpool academy head, added: “Of the four phases of the game – attack, defence, offensive transition, defensive transition – until Pep arrived, most teams structured themselves defensively and took whatever the game gave them. They were reactive. Guardiola arrived and said, ‘no, we will think about how we play from the way we attack’.”

Football reorganised around possession, positioning and numerical superiority with the ball as the centre of everything. This triggered a response and was where Arteta’s story began.

“Teams started asking themselves how to counter this… with pressing and, above all, quick transitions,” said Segura.

The game evolved in response to Guardiola’s approach; transitions became sharper, physical demands increased, players had to think about what they were doing or had to do.

Crucially, Arteta grew up as a coach in that world.

Those who worked closely within that period describe Arteta’s time alongside Guardiola at City not just as an apprenticeship. He was remembered as a “formidable dance partner”, immersed in the intensity of the manager’s methodology.

Guardiola valued his input highly as he helped raise standards in training, particularly in intensity, aggression and competitive detail.

Having played for both Everton and Arsenal, Arteta opened Guardiola’s eyes about the Premier League tempo, refereeing, emotional volatility of fans and physical demands.

But he was never a “fundamentalist” of Guardiola’s ideas. While aligned in principles when he was his assistant, he was already developing his own thinking. Guardiola innovated and Arteta imagined how the game would adapt.

Segura added: “Unlike Pep, who had to learn transitions which he started doing in Germany, Arteta was born and grew up with them. He played in England, he knows them.”

Guardiola’s teams, at their core, have always dominated two phases of the game; attacking organisation and defensive transition. They control matches through possession and react immediately when the ball is lost.

Arteta’s early Arsenal teams leaned heavily on control, but eventually moved on.

Former Celta Vigo assistant David Martinez explained: “I think he understood that to be competitive and aspire to win titles – offensively there are teams with more resources and talent than Arsenal. He understood he had to base his improvement on dominating everything.”

Robert Moreno, former Spain coach, argued Arteta developed his own voice into producing one of the most effective units in Europe.

Mangan also added: “What’s fascinating with Mikel is that he’s understood where the game is going very quickly – duels, set-pieces, long throws… all the things that now decide matches.”

But that process Arteta has worked on comes at a price.

The more a team relies on rehearsed mechanisms, the more it depends on precision. If execution drops, the system can struggle.

This is a key distinction from Guardiola.

Elite teams managed by him maintain an ideal combination of intelligence within structure, and he has players capable of improvising solutions when patterns break down.

At times, Arsenal are perceived as more rigid. There are moments where, instead of breaking structure to solve problems, players remain locked into roles.

While Arsenal learned to compete at the highest level, Guardiola continued to evolve.

That tension – between adapting and remaining faithful to an idea – defines the 55-year-old’s career.

“He starts incorporating new concepts,” said Segura. “Above all defensive transition, that’s where he evolves enormously.

“Arteta incorporated more physical profiles than Pep. Pep seeks more technical players… Arteta looks for strength, speed, power.”

But there are still plenty of points of convergence.

“Both have looked for pieces to improve the offensive transition,” added Segura. “City with [Erling] Haaland… Arteta with [Viktor] Gyokeres.”

There is an element where the comparison becomes most revealing. In elite football, what defines coaches is how they respond to difficulty.

Arteta is in that moment now. He has built a team capable of competing with the best. But the final step – winning consistently at the very top – is where he wants to get to.

When results do not follow, the temptation is always the same; change and react to external pressure. Arteta has not abandoned those ideas. He has doubled down. He has asked more of his players, pushed harder but within the same framework.

In elite sport, losing is considered part of the process. The next step is evolving and trying again with the same effort, or more.

Guardiola has lived that cycle repeatedly. After setbacks, after criticism, he has returned to his principles and expanded them.

Former Burnley, Everton and Nottingham Forest boss Sean Dyche has witnessed that resilience up close.

“In difficult times, Pep didn’t panic,” he said. “He adjusted, but he stayed true to what he believes.

“I think it’s brilliant management from Pep, and Arteta… they have tried to win a certain way, but they have also evolved to play in ways that we knew before.”

There is another layer to the challenge Arteta faces, one created, in part, by Guardiola himself.

“The biggest shift in football now is that winning isn’t enough anymore,” added Dyche. “People ask how you win.”

Guardiola changed expectations.

So now Arsenal, despite their development, are judged on results of course, but also on perception.

“I’d run down the M4 from London to Cardiff naked.”

That’s how desperate Mark Williams is to win a fourth world title. It’s a bold statement, even in jest.

When he last triumphed at the Crucible in 2018, Williams fulfilled a similar pre-tournament pledge to strip off in front of the world’s media.

Williams beat John Higgins 18-16 in the final, adding to previous titles in 2000 and 2003, and appeared naked, save for a towel, at his post-match press conference.

“I’d do anything to get another title, but the years go by and you’re less likely to win it,” he said prior to this year’s event.

If he does win, he might be willing to cause traffic chaos on the motorway, while it would mean he surpasses Ronnie O’Sullivan as the oldest ever world champion.

The 51-year-old from the small south Wales village of Cwm, near Ebbw Vale, came agonisingly close to achieving that milestone last year.

The oldest ever finalist, he was eventually beaten 18-12 by Zhao Xintong who himself made history as the first Chinese, and Asian, world champion.

Williams reached the final despite his deteriorating eyesight for which he is awaiting lens replacement surgery.

“If it goes wrong, that’s the end. That’s the only thing stopping me. I spoke to [former player] Anthony Hamilton, who also had it done, and because of the glare of the TV lights, it ruined his career,” said Williams.

“Eventually I’ll get my eyes done but whether or not that’s this year, next year, I don’t know.”

As well as an unusual fear of teabags, Williams also revealed after the Tour Championship in Manchester earlier this year he had been struggling with yips – a sudden and unexplained loss of ability to execute certain skills.

“It’s a bit concerning. I’m like a paranoid mess at the minute, because I’m just thinking, I’m not going to screw it back, and I’m snatching. And yeah, it’s not great, but I need the practise to get out of it,” added Williams.

“I’m not putting in enough work. I’m going to come in now and try and play most days until the World Championship just to try and get that timing back.”

Williams’ cautiousness about going under the knife suggests he still has ambitions to continue on the baize for years to come – and who can blame him.

Last October, at the age of 50 years and 206 days, he beat the mark set back in 1982 by fellow Welshman Ray Reardon to become the oldest winner of a ranking event when he triumphed in the Xi’an Grand Prix.

Even now, having turned 51 last month, he is ranked sixth in the world going into the World Championship this weekend.

“When I was 45 I said I’d like to see where I am in the rankings when I’m 50,” Williams recalled.

“I’m not retiring, I made that decision years ago. Let’s see where I am in the rankings at 55, that’ll be interesting.”

He may have ruled out retirement but is not feeling quite so confident about his chances at the Crucible this year.

“I’m still fighting. I’m still trying and that’s all I can say,” he said.

“I try my best in every tournament and if you win, great, if you lose, that’s not the end of the world.

“I’ve been doing this since I was an eight-year-old kid. My father was going down the mines for 30 years, my grandfather for 50 years.

“I’m just travelling around the world playing the stupid game of snooker, getting paid well for it and enjoying it. You can’t put too much pressure on yourself.”

Williams has something of a love-hate relationship with the Crucible, but after three previous successes he welcomed confirmation the World Championship will remain at the Sheffield venue until at least 2045.

“It’s good. I’ve always said the Crucible is not my favourite venue, but without doubt the World Championships should stay there,” he said.

“It’s the home of snooker and there’s no atmosphere like it. It’s perfect as it is.”

The Welsh Potting Machine starts his bid for a fourth world title on the opening day of the tournament – Saturday, 18 May – against qualifier Antoni Kowalski.

Were he to make it all the way to the two-day final on 3-4 May he might need to pull on those running trainers – but nothing else.

They say a week is a long time in football – never mind an entire decade.

It is exactly 10 years since Aston Villa were relegated to English football’s second tier for the first time since 1987 after a 1-0 loss at Manchester United.

It was their ninth consecutive league defeat during a 13-game winless run that ended their miserable 2015-16 season, which left the 1982 European Cup winners facing a largely uncertain future under their American owner Randy Lerner.

They then spent three long seasons in the Championship before finally returning to the top flight for the 2019-20 campaign, but were still struggling for identity and direction until the arrival of Unai Emery.

Fast forward to Thursday and you could argue that Villa are now back among Europe’s elite.

A commanding 7-1 aggregate win over Bologna sealed their place in the Europa League semi-final with minimum fuss at Villa Park. And it barely registered as a momentous occasion – a marker of progress achieved under Emery, who has transformed the club and raised standards and expectations in recent seasons.

This is Villa’s second European semi-final in three seasons under the Spanish manager, following a Conference League run in 2023-24, and comes after a Champions League quarter-final appearance last season.

“If someone told me we’d be fighting for the Champions League and in a semi-final of the Europa League a couple of years ago I’d have bitten their hand off,” said Ollie Watkins, who scored three goals over two legs against Bologna.

“So we are just trying to take it all in and enjoy the process,” Villa’s latest member of the 100-goal club told TNT Sports.

They are also firmly in the Premier League top-five race, sitting in fourth place with six games remaining and targeting a return to the Champions League via the league.

A European semi-final against Nottingham Forest now awaits them, and 10 years on from the despair of relegation, this feels like the new normal for Villa under Emery.

“Villa was perfect tonight, every player played their part and they are deservedly going through to the semi-final,” their former midfielder Stiliyan Petrov told TNT Sports.

“They fully deserve to enjoy this moment as they worked really hard. It is about believing and I think these players do now believe that they can make it to that final.”

Emery replaced Steven Gerrard as Villa manager in October 2022 with Villa hovering just above the relegation zone on goal difference.

The former Arsenal and Villarreal boss brought with him his own backroom staff, with many of the old guard departing.

Former Sevilla goalkeeper Monchi also joined as Villa’s president of football operations in June 2023 – having previously worked with Emery at Sevilla and winning three Europa League titles together.

Emery immediately made an impact, imposing structure, clarity and belief on a Villa side that was once again flirting with relegation to guide them to a top‑seven finish and European qualification in his first season.

The following campaign proved the progress was no fluke.

Turning Villa Park into a fortress, they established themselves as a top‑four contender during 2023-24 while also reaching the semi-finals of the Conference League, where they were beaten 6-2 on aggregate by Olympiakos.

“The first year we got here in the Conference League, a lot of us hadn’t played in Europe so when we got to the latter stages there was a lot of pressure,” Watkins said.

“Each year we’ve learned and taken something from it. And to trust the manager because he’s so experienced in this competition. He’s won it numerous times so we believe in what he tells us and keep going.”

A first taste of top-tier European competition since 1982-83 came last season when they reached the Champions League quarter-finals against Emery’s former side Paris St-Germain.

And on their way to the last eight, they posted memorable league-stage wins against Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig while also holding Juventus to a goalless draw.

And this season’s run on the continental stage further underlines their upward trajectory under the Spaniard.

“It’s an amazing achievement for us to progress to the semi-finals and to go one step further than last year in the Champions League,” Watkins said.

“We’re really enjoying being in this competition and this is where we want to be, in the semi-finals.”

Emery told TNT Sports: “I’m very happy. We were organised and tried to impose our ideas and style, which is not easy against Bologna.”

“We are so happy with the way we are performing in this competition. It was fantastic. We are in the semi-finals, but there is still work to do.”

Villa are under no illusions about the challenge ahead as they head into the semi-final against Forest as tournament favourites.

Forest earned their place in their first European semi-final since1984 with a 1-0 win against 10-man Porto in the second leg.

Despite Forest being involved in a relegation battle domestically, Villa know their opponents’ resilience first hand having been held to a 1-1 draw by Vitor Pereira’s side last weekend.

“It’s a really exciting time for me personally and the team collectively,” said Watkins, who scored his 100th goal for the club in all competitions on Thursday.

We’ve come out the sticky period and we’ve got it all to play for. But it’s going to be difficult.

“We’ve played [Forest] twice already this season and it’s not been easy. But we focus on each game and enjoy the process.”

Emery also echoed Watkins’ caution when looking ahead to the all-English last-four contest.

“Now we will play in a semi-final and it will be very difficult against Forest,” he said.

The first leg of their last-four tie against Forest will be played in Nottingham on 30 April before the return leg in Birmingham on 7 May.

Win that, and a European final in Istanbul awaits against either Portugal’s Braga face Bundesliga side Freiburg on 20 May.

And Forest will very much fancy their chances to end a 30-year trophy drought in the Turkish city and add to their 1982 European triumph, under Emery who has already won the competition four times before.

Championship game on a Saturday, Champions League match on a Tuesday?

While Nottingham Forest bask in the glory of Thursday’s victory over Porto in the Europa League quarter-finals, their position in the Premier League means their short and medium-term future remains somewhat complicated.

Forest’s battling 1-0 win to secure a 2-1 victory on aggregate means they will play Aston Villa in their first European semi-final for 42 years.

The winners of that all-English tie will head to Istanbul for the final on 20 May – against either Freiburg or Braga – as favourites.

And victory in Turkey will not only earn silverware but a spot in next season’s Champions League.

Before that, however, they face crucial league fixtures against Burnley and Sunderland. If results in those games and elsewhere go against them, they could be in the relegation zone by the time that last-four tie with Villa arrives.

Despite being on their best unbeaten run of the season, could Forest really end up playing the likes of Bristol City and Real Madrid in the same week next season?

Winning the Europa League was a target for Forest at the start of the season, having spent around £180m on new players.

Owner Evangelos Marinakis was looking to build on last season’s seventh-place finish, when Forest missed out on the Champions League on the final day.

Four managers – Nuno Espirito Santo, Ange Postecoglou, Sean Dyche and now Vitor Pereira – later and it remains realistic despite the self-inflicted chaos this season.

Postecoglou lifted the Europa League with Tottenham last May and told his Forest players he wanted to defend the trophy after he replaced Nuno in September.

During his 39 days in charge, Forest drew their opener 2-2 at Real Betis before a damaging 3-2 home defeat by Midtjylland saw fans turn on the Australian, who was sacked after seven winless games.

Dyche fared little better, although he at least guided Forest out of the Europa League group phase, but the turbulent nature of the season means Pereira must now balance domestic and European goals into May.

“They can do both [win the Europa League and stay up],” former England international Karen Carney told TNT Sports.

“The point against Aston Villa in the Premier League, this moment tonight finding themselves in the Europa League semi-finals, Burnley on Sunday… this could be a turning point for them this week.”

Sunday’s visit of Burnley remains key to Premier League safety with Forest having navigated three of their potentially season-defining games in the past seven days.

Pereira showed his hand both in his team selection and post-match comments after the first leg draw at Porto last week.

A much-changed side, including young defender Zach Abbott, Morato and Chris Wood’s first appearance for six months after injury, underlined where the priorities were.

Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Aston Villa, when Portuguese manager Pereira made nine changes to return to his strongest Premier League side, justified the minor gamble in Porto.

“The club said to me the priority is to keep the club in in the Premier League,” said the former Wolves boss after the game in Portugal. “I agree. For the supporters, for everybody, for the club, for everybody. It’s a disaster if we go to the Championship.

“We are competing with West Ham, Tottenham and Leeds and it’s not easy to compete with these kind of clubs.

“If we are not in the Premier League, it will be a disaster and this is a disaster I don’t want to have responsibility for.

“Of course, I want to win [the Europa League]. I had it as an assistant coach. We won the Europa League [with Porto in 2011] but I want to win it as a head coach.

“I want to keep my club in Premier League and to fight to achieve the final.”

Forest have six games left as they look to beat the drop – potentially helping to relegate Tottenham for the first time since 1977 in the process.

Yet, if the worst happens, how will they juggle the relentless nature of the Championship with European football?

To give an idea of how the two schedules collide, Champions League teams played six fixtures in the league phase before Christmas, while there were five midweek Championship rounds during the same period.

All five of those Championship rounds coincided with Champions League games. There is no leeway.

Europe’s elite competition expanded to 36 teams from last season. Add the Carabao Cup to that fixture list and it is a packed schedule that looks almost unmanageable.

League games – with English Football League clubs playing 46 in a campaign – would likely need to be postponed and moved. It would seem an impossible task.

Forest would not be a unique case of playing in Europe while in the second tier but they would certainly have more fixture congestion than previous teams, who faced fewer games in past versions of European competition.

In 2011, Birmingham stunned Arsenal to win the League Cup when Obafemi Martins’ late goal earned the Blues their first major trophy.

Yet they were relegated from the Premier League three months later and faced the Europa League in the Championship.

The finished third in Group H, behind Club Brugge and Braga, to exit the competition despite losing just two of their six games and winning 10 points.

Their victory over Club Brugge in Belgium coming courtesy of a stoppage-time winner from current Forest striker Chris Wood.

Wigan Athletic followed two years later when they won the FA Cup and were relegated. They finished bottom of Group D which included Rubin Kazan, Maribor and Zulte Waregem.

Ipswich also reached the Uefa Cup despite being relegated from the Premier League in 2001-02 after they qualified via Uefa’s Fair Play League.

All of the English teams above them in the Fair Play League had already made other European competitions.

While in the Championship they lost on penalties to Slovan Liberec in the second round, while Millwall – FA Cup runners up in 2004 – lost in the knockout stage to Ferencvaros in 2004-05.