Pep Guardiola has claimed he would never stop a player from leaving to join a direct Premier League rival.

Last year, the Manchester City boss strengthened Arsenal by letting former student Mikel Arteta sign Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko. The move almost backfired as the Gunners led the table for most of the campaign until falling at the final hurdle.

Both players get into Arsenal’s best starting line-up as Arteta targets another title charge this season. Guardiola also raised eyebrows by allowing Cole Palmer to join Chelsea in August.

While not an immediate rival, the Blues are expected to improve in the coming years and Palmer was viewed as a talented academy product. But the Spaniard insisted that, as long as the deal suits City, he would never block a player from moving to a rival club.

“Never, ever (when asked if he would stop a player leaving),” Guardiola said. “From my point of view, I give my opinion to the club and they decide if the transfer suits both sides and the player. Why? I think that means you are a small club.

"Big clubs, they don’t prefer (care), they make decisions for the benefit of all three parties. Players, both clubs and agents sometimes. So really it is not a problem. They want to go to Chelsea or [Manchester] United or Liverpool, whatever, what is the problem?

“They are happy to be there, the club is happy with the transfer. The other club is happy with the amount of money they spend, it is fine.”