Mikel Arteta says his conscience is clear over Manchester City rule breaches

Mikel Arteta said on Friday, 9 October, that his conscience was clear about Manchester City’s financial-rule breaches during part of his time as an assistant manager there. Speaking at Arsenal’s training ground in his first news conference since an independent commission’s ruling, he answered ‘Yes’ when asked directly about his own position, according to BBC Sport. City has appealed the ruling, and no sanction has yet been established in the cited reports.

Arteta worked under Pep Guardiola at City from 2016 to 2019. Those years overlap with the 2009/10 to 2017/18 seasons covered by the commission’s findings. The question put to him concerned his conscience given what the reporter described as his senior role at the club. His answer addressed that question; he did not offer an account of what he knew about the arrangements examined by the commission.

What Arteta said about the Manchester City ruling

For most of the news conference, Arteta declined to give a view on the case. Asked for his reaction to the commission report, he said it was important to ‘respect the process’ because an appeal meant it was still unresolved. He said his position, and what he understood to be Arsenal’s position, was to make no further comment until the process was fully resolved. That made his one-word answer about his conscience a narrow response, rather than a broader assessment of the commission’s findings.

Arteta also declined to say whether he had spoken to Guardiola, telling reporters: ‘I prefer not to answer those questions.’ When asked whether the appeal and sanction needed to be settled this season to protect the Premier League’s integrity, he said those responsible for the process should reach the right conclusions and that people had to trust them. He separately said he believed the Premier League remained the best in the world.

What the commission found about City’s finances

According to the League, the commission found that City arranged commercial contracts that misrepresented the real agreements and relied on other such arrangements to inflate revenue and reduce costs. It said the commission found disguised funding connected to sponsorship deals and other arrangements, with the combined effect of inflating revenue and reducing costs by more than £900m over the affected period. The League also said City filed misstated accounts and concealed its true financial position from auditors and football regulators.

The commission concluded, according to the League, that accurate reporting of the relevant agreements would have left City in substantial breach of both Premier League and UEFA spending limits. Three of four alleged breaches of the club’s duties to cooperate with the League’s investigation were upheld. The League quoted the commission as saying City had made ‘concerted efforts to stop and frustrate’ that investigation. These are findings about the club’s conduct; the statement does not make a finding about Arteta’s personal knowledge or conduct.

The investigation began in December 2018, the Premier League said, and a formal complaint followed in February 2023. A 42-day commission hearing ended in December 2024. The League has published a redacted core decision and said additional appendices would be published when possible. That history explains why the ruling concerns seasons well before Arteta’s Friday remarks, while the disciplinary process itself is still continuing.

Appeal and sanction remain unresolved

The Premier League’s 29 September statement said City had until 2 October to exercise its right to appeal. That statement did not itself confirm an appeal had been filed; BBC Sport’s 9 October report says the club has appealed. Neither cited account establishes an appeal outcome. Arteta referred to that continuing process when explaining why he would not offer a broader comment on the case.

The League said a further hearing would determine what sanction follows the proven charges. It described that hearing as private and confidential until publication of an outcome is permitted. The distinction matters for assessing the case now: the commission has issued findings on breaches, while the consequences for City and the result of its appeal remain open in the cited material.

Arteta’s remarks came with Arsenal three points behind league-leading City, according to BBC Sport. Arsenal were due to play Leeds at Emirates Stadium on Saturday, 10 October. His immediate football schedule provided the setting for the news conference, but his answer about City addressed a separate question: how he viewed his own time at the club during years included in a ruling that remains under appeal.