Ake: Guardiola alarm call has woken us up

THERE is always a peculiar relationship between mentor and protege, as if the stakes become even higher than normal whenever they duel.

Who can forget the tactical work Jose Mourinho put in as Chelsea manager to defeat Liverpool in 2014 and ensure his former colleague Brendan Rodgers did not win the Premier League title.

Now good friends Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta are in direct competition to add an extra dimension to the fascinating title race between Manchester City and Arsenal.

City won the FA Cup ‘warm-up’ by the narrowest of 1-0 margins on Friday, with a big Premier League double-header to come, the first at the Emirates on February 15.

Arsenal lead City by five points with a game in hand and based on Guardiola’s recent outburst, accusing his players of lacking Arsenal’s ‘fire’, he is arguably even more motivated to beat his former No2 than he was Jurgen Klopp. Psychologists might see it as a father not wanting to be surpassed by his son.

Nathan Ake, who scored the winning goal in the cup against Arsenal believes the outburst could turn out to a decisive intervention in

City’s bid to win a third consecutive league championship. ‘He feels our own fire dipped a bit and the only thing we can do is try to get that back,’ said the defender.

‘He’s probably right. The only thing we can do is fight back and show everyone and ourselves especially we still have that hunger. He has been at top clubs and probably did it to wake us up.’

City won the battle at the Etihad to reach the fifth round but it is no clearer who will win lift the Premier League trophy in May. Arteta made more changes than Guardiola but it was still the visitors who bossed general play.

Ake, who has won winner’s medal in each of his two seasons at City following his move from Bournemouth, is under no illusions how difficult itll be to claim a hat-trick of titles.

‘Arsenal are a top team. They showed it again in this last game. The league will be a different game but it’s always good to win.’

The smart money is that City’s greater options may ultimately hold sway. It has taken Ake two years to become a regular, competing with John Stones, Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte and Joao Cancelo in defence.

Ake added: ‘The [team] is always changing so the only thing I can do is try and prove I want to play.’