Mikel Arteta

Who is Mikel Arteta?

Mikel Arteta, who was born on 26 March 1982, is a Spanish professional football coach and former footballer. Arteta is currently the coach of the English club Arsenal that competes in the Premier League.

In summer 2016, Mikel was appointed an assistant manager at Man City, alongside Brian Kidd and Domenec Torrent, who operated as deputies to Pep Guardiola. At Man City, Mikel won 2 Premier League trophies, FA Cup, and 2 EFL Cups.

In 2018, the Spaniard became heavily linked with the Arsenal coach’s vacancy, following the exit of his former boss Arsene Wenger, but another Spanish manager Unai Emery was eventually hired.

In December 2019, Mikel was appointed manager at Arsenal, signing a contract until 2023. In December 2019, the Spanish tactician took charge for the first time as a Gunners coach for their Premier League game with Bournemouth, which ended in a 1–1 draw.

In January 2020, Mikel won his first game as a Gunners coach after a 2–0 victory over Man United at the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners went on to win the FA Cup final 2–1 over Chelsea for a record 14th victory, making the Spaniard the first person to win this trophy as both captain and coach of Arsenal.

In August, Mikel won his second title as coach after Arsenal beat Liverpool 5–4 on penalties in the FA Community Shield.

In the Europa League, Arteta led the London club to the semi-finals, in which they lost 2–1 on aggregate to Villarreal.

All you need to know about Mikel Arteta’s football career

Born in San Sebastian, Mikel began his senior career at the Catalan club Barcelona in 1999, but short game time led to a loan move to French giants PSG in 2001. Arteta then signed for the Scottish Premiership club Rangers.

After a brief comeback to Real Sociedad, Mikel joined Everton on loan in 2005. Arteta later signed permanently.

The Spanish midfielder signed for the Gunners in 2011, where Arteta won two FA Cups and served as club captain from 2014 until his retirement in 2016.

Mikel represented the national team through several youth levels but never played for the senior side. Mikel became the London club’s new captain ahead of the 2014–15 campaign.

Arteta won his first title as full-time captain, playing the whole match as Arsenal beat Man City 3–0 in the 2014 FA Community Shield.

Despite his new appointment, Arteta would just play 11 games for the entire campaign, scoring once. Mikel signed a one-year extension with the Gunners for the 2015–16 campaign.