Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta delivers one-word response to Man City verdict question

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has stated he has a clear conscience over Manchester City's Premier League rule breaches.

Last month, it was revealed that an independent commission found that Man City had broken the Premier League's financial rules between 2009-10 and 2017-18.

Man City were said to have artificially inflated their revenue by £830m, although the club have submitted an appeal and maintained their innocence.

Arteta started his coaching career at Man City, working as Pep Guardiola's assistant for over three years before taking the top job at Arsenal in December 2019.

Arteta has clear conscience over Man City stint

As a result, the 44-year-old was at the Etihad Stadium for two years within the nine-season period in question.

Speaking ahead of Saturday's clash with Leeds, Arteta simply replied "yes" when asked if he had a clear conscience about his time at Man City.

The Arsenal boss was otherwise reluctant to offer any further comments on the case until it is "fully resolved."

“I think it's very important that we respect the process, the timelines, and it's still an ongoing process that is not resolved because it's been appealed," Arteta said.

"My position, and I think the club's position, is not to make any further comments until this is fully resolved.

Arteta promises to "talk with clarity" once case is resolved

“This has been going on for various years. That process is still not finished. So it is very difficult to express how I feel, because it is not resolved.

"When it is resolved, I can talk with clarity and tell you exactly how I feel.

“I think we control our accelerator, and believe me, for seven years, it's been full gas in everything that we can do, and take every corner at max speed, but understanding what our strength and the things that we can do.

“This is something that's not in our hands. In our hands is the way we have prepared. That's where the focus has been.”

Arteta's primary focus is getting his team to bounce back from a surprise 3-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion before the international break.

Arsenal head into Saturday's clash against Leeds without William Saliba and Christos Tzolis, the latter of whom will be out for a "few weeks" with an injury he picked up on international duty.