ππ-πππππ δ½ Posted May 16 Share Posted May 16 We have seen him as a player and we know him as a manager, but who is Mikel Arteta? In the final week of a thrilling Premier League season, the Arsenal manager invited BBC Sport columnist Guillem Balague to his home for an exclusive hour-long interview. Arteta talks about his childhood, his career, his family life and becoming the manager he is today. LISTEN: Football Daily Podcast Special - Mikel Arteta's People & Places Arteta on his childhood and La Masia Arteta grew up in the idyllic neighbourhood of Antiguo in San Sebastian. βI love the water, I love the sun and I love the beach, and you include a football on top of that..." he says. "That's where I spent most of the hours of the day, playing on the beach when I was a kid. For me, it was the perfect combination.β At 14, Arteta met future Spain and Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina on his first day at the Barcelona academy, La Masia. He was room-mates and friends with Barca legends Victor Valdez and Andres Iniesta as teenagers. βHe (Reina) has been one of my best friends," he says. "We shared our bunk beds for three years. One of the best memories that I have in my life is the time that we spent together. βWe were competing with each other because we had to - because we all wanted to get to the first team - but it was a real sense of family." At 17, Arteta moved on loan to Paris St-Germain, where he met Mauricio Pochettino, who became an elder brother figure and good friend. Β βMauricio was like a shield for me - he was protecting me from everything. He was giving me so much confidence," Arteta says. Β βHe was playing behind me and then it was like having someone constantly pushing you in your back and coaching you and helping you all the time. I could not find anybody better." Β On his move to PSG, Arteta says: "It was a difficult decision. My dream was to play for Barcelona but at the time I had to be very realistic." In 2002 Arteta signed a deal to join Rangers, leaving Barcelona. βI have never seen an atmosphere like this - look how passionate these people are,β says Arteta about his first visit to Rangers, where they were playing PSG in the Champions League. βBest decision that we made. It was really challenging - completely different football. You have to survive or die.β During his time at Rangers, Arteta met his future wife Lorena, a life coach, on a trip to San Sebastian. They now have three children together. βShe has changed my life. She has changed my perception about life,β he says. βWe have navigated many, many different situations, some of them fascinating, some of them really difficult. "I have that feeling with her that we never get bored. I can be sitting there five hours, 10 hours, go anywhere in the world and enjoy and have fun and laugh. "In our profession we always talk about the protagonist, which is the player or the coach or the manager. "But what about the person that is next to that one? And without that there is not enough foundations and there is not enough strength for that to be consistent." Arteta on 'loving every minute' at Everton Arteta joined Everton in 2005 for Β£2m after a successful spell on loan from Sociedad. βStraight away, you connect with the team; you connect with the players; you connect with the staff; you connect with the supporters and it flows. And that feeling is needed,β he says. βYou feel confident, you feel excited every morning to get off your bed and go to training. I loved every minute." Arteta on βunbelievable chemistryβ with Guardiola https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c2qvqn03z4vo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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