Perhaps because it was so unexpected and so personal, Pep Guardiola’s lovely gesture to Harry Arter after Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Bournemouth touched a lot of people.
At the conclusion of the game, Guardiola made his way onto the pitch to have a few words with the Ireland midfielder. Smiling, Arter spoke back before they embraced and both men walked off to applaud their respective supporters.
Late last night, Bournemouth confirmed the City boss had wished both Arter and his wife, Rachel, well on the impending birth of their child. The couple lost a daughter, Renee, to still-birth in 2015.
Arter was touched by the gesture and told the Bournemouth Echo:
“Pep offered his best wishes for me and my partner this week, which was an unbelievable touch.”
Arter added: “For me, he is the best manager in the world. I don’t think there’s anybody close to him and what he has achieved.
“For him to offer that to me, I respected it and accepted it with a smile on my face.”
Post-match, Guardiola spoke about the exchange with the media. He said:
“He will be a father soon so I said big congratulations to him and his partner because I know what happened in the past, and, hopefully it is going to go well this time.”
It was truly heartening to see such a touching moment between two proud football men after a tight contest.
