While the Spanish national team may not have rewarded Mikel Arteta with international recognition, he certainly earned the admiration of his team-mate.
Everton full-back Seamus Coleman has told the Premier League’s official Twitter account that he considers himself fortunate to have been given the opportunity to share a field with Mikel Arteta.
Arteta arrived on Merseyside for a meagre £2.8 million from Real Sociedad in 2005, as reported by The Guardian, marking him out as a trademark David Moyes bargain alongside the likes of Tim Cahill and Phil Jagielka, winning Everton’s Players Player of the Season award on two occasions as the creative lynchpin of an overachieving Toffees side.
The Spanish schemer quickly became a firm favourite at Goodison Park for his impressive distribution and technical ability, skills he honed as a budding youngster in Barcelona’s famed academy system.
And Coleman admits that he used to watch on in awe as Everton’s game revolved around the deft-footed playmaker.
“When I broke into the Everton team, he was pulling the strings week in week out,” the Republic of Ireland international told the Premier League’s official Twitter.
“He got a bad injury away to Newcastle [suffering ligament damage that kept him on the sidelines for almost a year] but, before that, he was an unbelievable player to watch. I’m very lucky to have played with him.”
Long-term lay-offs meant Arteta never quite rediscovered the sparkling form that made him one of the top flight’s most eye-catching players during his initial few years at Everton, struggling to match the influence of Barcelona-bound Cesc Fabregas when replacing his compatriot at Arsenal in 2011.
After injury forced him into a premature retirement at the age of 34, Arteta is now embarking upon a new career on the sidelines as assistant coach to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, where his expert reading of the game will surely stand him in good stead.
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