By Matthew Cooper Pep Guardiola was always convinced Mikel Arteta would do an excellent job at Arsenal. The pair worked together for several years at Manchester City, with Arteta named as one of Guardiola’s assistants following his retirement from playing in 2016. Arteta then returned to Arsenal as manager in December 2019 following the sacking of Unai Emery. At the time, he received great support from Guardiola who hailed the Spaniard’s tactical nous when asked about his start to life as Gunners boss back in March 2020. “I was convinced he would be a manager when the opportunity comes and thi…