Related items

• Arteta shows Guardiola the love as Arsenal-Man City rivalry sparks

  Mikel Arteta is "so grateful" to Pep Guardiola, though the Arsenal manager claimed it is out of his hands if somebody else wishes to damage his relationship with Manchester City's boss.

  Tempers flared in the 2-2 draw between the Premier League title rivals at the Etihad Stadium last week.

  Ahead of this weekend's fixtures, Guardiola said City would go to "war" with Arsenal, who joined the reigning champions on 14 points after Saturday's games.

  While City drew 1-1 at Newcastle United, Arsenal clinched a 4-2 victory over Leicester City thanks to two stoppage-time goals.

  After that match, though, Arteta was still asked about Guardiola.

  "I've admired him since I was 10 years old," Arteta said on Saturday.

  "I respect him profoundly. I'm so grateful for everything he did for me and continues to do for me.

  "If someone wants to damage the relationship, that's not in my hands.

  "The feeling [of affection] is profound. [Guardiola] knows it, the staff know it because I still [speak] with them today, and with the board, the ownership – with everyone."

  Arteta was a coach at City between 2016 and 2019, until he left to replace Unai Emery in charge of the Gunners.

• Lopetegui pleased with West Ham character after Brentford draw

  West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui was pleased with his side’s character as they overcame a poor start to draw 1-1 away to Brentford.

  Lopetegui’s side were coming off the back of a comprehensive 3-0 defeat to Chelsea in their last league game and a 5-1 EFL Cup thrashing at Liverpool in midweek.

  Bryan Mbuemo’s goal a minute into the encounter could have spelled the worst for the Hammers, but they recovered well and got back on level terms early in the second half through midfielder Tomas Soucek.

  Lopetegui now has something to build upon as his side face a vital match at home to Ipswich Town before the next international break, and their overall performance pleased the Spaniard.

  He told BBC Sport: “We showed this [Brentford's record of scoring early] to the players and it's incredible we suffered. It's a bad picture to concede so early.

  "We kept calm and I think we deserved to win the match in the second half, we showed character and commitment.

  "We had three or four very clear situations to score a second goal but we didn't manage it and we take a point. I have to keep positive.

  "We always have to work as a team or we are weaker - I think we did this in the second half."

  Brentford manager Thomas Frank was content with a point despite again taking the lead early on, as he continues to deal with injuries in the squad.

  “It’s a good point,” said Frank. “I'm always disappointed if we don't get three. We were the better team for 75 minutes.

  "West Ham outpowered us for 15 minutes at the start of the second half. If you take into consideration that we have nine first team players out, we had nothing to shoot with.

  "What I liked from my team was the mentality. We kept going forward."

  Frank could not explain the reason for Brentford netting in the opening minute of three straight games, but he feels it speaks to one of the main principles of his side.

  “I can't tell you [the secret]. It must be a world record, three games in a row under 40 seconds - it's unbelievable," he added.

  "We had a plan again, it's a mindset of playing forward and trying to get on the game straight away. I'm very pleased with that."

• Guardiola looking for solutions in midfield in Rodri's absence

  Pep Guardiola was pleased with the performance of his midfielders in the 1-1 draw with Newcastle United, but knows he must find solutions in Rodri's absence.

  Rodri ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal last week and his unavailability proved costly last season, with City losing three of the four league matches in which he did not feature.

  Of the 50 matches Rodri played in all competitions for City last term, Guardiola's side won 38 and only lost once, but they lost four of the nine games he missed.

  Rico Lewis and Mateo Kovacic formed City's central pairing against Newcastle on Saturday and Guardiola believes he has the quality in his ranks to plug the gap.

  "I know you are going to ask me all the time, but he [Rodri] is not there," said Guardiola, who was also without the injured Kevin De Bruyne at St James' Park.

  "Kovacic, Bernardo [Silva], Rico did well, but I have to find solutions. I would love Rodri to be here.

  "I see my team and recognise them perfectly. We had chances to score and in midfield we were strong. The issue was balls in behind.

  "But sometimes it happens and you have to adapt. We had chances to score, but this is their stadium and they had chances to score, so I'm happy (with a point)."

  City failed to score multiple goals in a Premier League match for the first time in 15 games.

  Despite dropping points in the league for the second successive match, and having seen City also take the lead through Josko Gvardiol, Guardiola was content with a point against a much-improved Newcastle.

  He said: "Sometimes it happens and you have to adapt. We had chances to score, but this is their stadium and they had chances to score, so I'm happy."