Getting Pep Guardiola is a fantastic coup for Man City - so what does it mean for Man United, Arsenal and Chelsea?

The new Manchester City boss brings with him a wonderful football philosophy, a remarkable track record of success established at Barcelona and an ability to bring in the biggest names

     Pep talk: Guardiola's arrival is a fantastic coup for Manchester City

Pep Guardiola is a fantastic coup for Manchester City.
And, make no mistake, this is a huge appointment for the Premier League - and a devastating blow for Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal.

Guardiola is the hottest managerial property in world football and City have trumped all of their rivals to get their man.
The Bayern Munich boss brings with him a wonderful football philosophy, a remarkable track record of success established at Barcelona and an ability to bring in the biggest names.

City have already got a wealth of attacking players - Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, David Silva - but now they can also attract a new generation of superstars.

And that is what will worry the rest. The Guardiola domino effect will have United, Chelsea and Arsenal running scared.
United know their fans will be in uproar because Louis Van Gaal is hugely unpopular, his football is dull and now City have brought in one of the most entertaining coaches in world football.

Chelsea are looking for a new manager and Guardiola has always been the dream ticket for Roman Abramovich. Now Guardiola’s appointment at City has made it a nightmare for Chelsea.

Arsenal have the longest serving and most successful manager in their history but even Arsene Wenger can’t go on forever.



And there is no doubt in my mind that if the timings had been right - and they never have been - then Guardiola would be Arsenal’s preferred choice to replace Wenger.

But, in truth, football has known about Manuel Pellegrini leaving for a long time, arguably since he signed a new contract last summer. That was only ever designed to stop some questions about his future. It didn’t take long for them to start again.

Chief football writer John Cross on the biggest story of transfer deadline day:

Guardiola has also been a done deal for a long time. Pellegrini admitted that he has known for a month, the City players have been expecting him for months.
I even think some of the recent stuff about United and Chelsea making late moves for Guardiola have been pie in the sky. They’ve known, they wouldn’t waste their time. They really wouldn’t.

Golden boy: Guardiola is the world's most wanted manager - and now he's City's 

 And I don’t think they have wasted their time. Everyone has known since late last year that Guardiola to City is a done deal. And City have been negotiating long before that. They’ve pulled it off and it’s great news for the English game.
Guardiola is a great fit for City because of the club’s hierarchy Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain - both former Barcelona executives - and also they have a wonderful set-up from academy, training and stadium.

It is all designed and geared towards long term success, not just on a domestic level but also European and Guardiola is the big draw to help them also establishes across world football.

Guardiola’s teams are expansive, attractive - and successful. These are really exciting times for City. It’s a fantastic coup.

There will be a lot of talk about whether City will down tools because they know Pellegrini is going. Well, this is only making things official. They’ve all known it’s been coming. This is actually sensible because it puts it out in the open.

BY JOHNCROSS