Mikel Arteta Amatriain (born 26 March 1982) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Premier League club Arsenal.
Born and raised in San Sebastián, Arteta began his senior club career at Barcelona in 1999, but limited playing time led to a loan to Paris Saint-Germain in 2001, aged 18. After winning the UEFA Intertoto Cup during his second season in France, he then signed for Scottish club Rangers for a fee of £6 million. During his debut season, Arteta won the Scottish Premier League and Scottish League Cup double, where he notably scored a 93rd-minute penalty against Dunfermline Athletic which secured the league title over rivals Celtic on goal difference.
After a brief return to hometown club Real Sociedad, Arteta joined English club Everton on loan in 2005; he later signed permanently. There, Arteta grew into a pivotal and influential player, winning Everton Player of the Season twice. Signing for Arsenal in 2011 for a reported fee of £10 million, Arteta won two FA Cups and served as captain from 2014 until his retirement in 2016. Arteta represented Spain through several youth levels, but never played for the senior national team. After retiring, he was appointed as an assistant coach to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. In 2019, he returned to Arsenal as head coach and won the FA Cup in his first year; his title was changed to manager in September 2020 to reflect his broader remit at the club.Born in San Sebastián, Basque Country, Arteta began his football career at Antiguoko and befriended fellow midfielder Xabi Alonso as they played together every weekend.[3] The two often played along the beaches and gutters of San Sebastián and dreamed of playing together at Real Sociedad.[3] Arteta left San Sebastián aged 15 in July 1997, with Antiguoko teammates Jon Alvarez and Mikel Yanguas, to trial with Barcelona’s youth academy, La Masia.[4] The trio played three trial games and all earned professional contracts
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