Mikel Arteta: Taking Risks.
In football, the work of a creative midfielder is to keep giving his team a chance to score a goal. They are tasked with taking risks, to see the pitch a little bit better than everyone else, a little bit more colorful.
Mikael Arteta was born on the 26th of March 1982 in San Sebastian, Spain. Growing up in Basque country as a football lover means that you either dreamt of playing for Barcelona or Real Sociedad.
Mikel was a Sociedad fan at heart but he spent his academy years at Barcelona, it is here where he developed his football brain and met Pep Guardiola too. Arteta played in the youth teams but never broke into Barcelona’s first team and was eventually loaned out to PSG.
Arteta started playing at the base of midfield, but a couple of years in Paris saw him play as a playmaker. His favorite position, which prompted Rangers to take a gamble on him. He moved to Rangers in 2002 and it is here where he started to established himself as a fan favorite.
The Scottish League may not be as prestigious, but it is a tough league to play in, much tougher if you are coming from Spain, but Arteta adopted quickly. He was an efficient player in possession, always trying to get the ball where the opponents do not want it to be, a leader and a player you could count on.
Arteta scored in his first Old Firm derby and would lead his Rangers team to a Scottish league title, League Cup and Champions League qualification. A base for things to come.
Home came calling in 2004 and Arteta joined Real Sociedad in what would end up being bitter sweet. He did get to make an appearance for the team he had dreamt of playing for, however they were only 15 appearances, scoring once, a late penalty in a 3–1 defeat to Valencia.
In 2005, Arteta moved to Everton, in a January loan move with a view of making it permanent later. He continued honing his creativity, and leadership. He didn't need much time to adapt to the league and he again quickly established himself as a key man and a fan favorite. Injuries would mean that he never got to break into the Spanish International side which to be fair, has always had a conveyor belt of creative midfielders.
At 29, an opportunity to join Arsenal came up, and he couldn't turn it down. He was a crucial member of the Arsenal squad through out his 5 years there. Injuries continued to minimize his appearances, he would captain Arsenal to his first piece of silverware in 2014 when Arsenal beat Hull City 3–2.
Throughout his time in England, Arteta kept in close contact with his friend Pep Guardiola, and would always give him his views on English football. People close to Arteta say he is obsessed with the tactical side of things, a pure football fan.
The premier league today has a couple of managers who were also club legends, players who were considered fan favorites. Arteta joined that list this season when he was announced as Arsenal’s new head coach.
He inherits a team that is lacking confidence, that cannot seem to keep the ball out of their own net or put it in the opponents net. Arsenal are lacking quality, but most of all, they lack leaders.
Arteta could not turned down another opportunity to join Arsenal, to become a number 1, every assistant manager wants to manage his own team. Especially if you played there, its the stuff of dreams, did you see Duncan Ferguson?
Ofcourse he will need time to instill his methods and build a quality team. Will he get it? Will he be successful? Who Knows but its worth the risk. That is what football is about, and if you do not see that, then you shouldn't be watching the beautiful game.
