After spells with Paris St. Germain, Rangers SC, Real Sociedad, Everton and of course, five amazing years at Arsenal, Mikel Arteta has hung up his boots to take on a coaching coach under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. From the moment he joined Arsenal in late 2011, Arteta became a positive influence on the team but he will always be remembered for the self sacrifice he made on behalf of his team when he curbed his attacking instincts to become the team’s holding midfielder following Alexandre Song’s departure to Barcelona.
The manager had touched on the influence he had on the team and hoped that he’d become a coach someday,
“Mikel has a huge influence even when he is not playing. He is super conscientious, and every morning two hours before training he prepares and that is absolutely right.
“Just through his behaviour, his focus on getting everything right in the team, he has a huge influence. He has great experience and is respected throughout the squad.
“I really hope Mikel considers going into coaching. When you manage, you want to see your players continue and see them give their experience and knowledge back.”
Arteta made 149 appearances for the Gunners and captained the team to two FA Cup titles in consecutive seasons. I can still remember how he urged then club captain, Thomas Vermaelen, to join him in lifting the 2014 FA Cup and it was evident that he was obviously the club’s leader, even though the band was handed to the Verminator.
It was only befitting that Arsene Wenger gave him the armband on a permanent basis on the start of the 2014/15 campaign. Arteta’s last two campaigns as the club’s captain didn’t pan out too well for him on a personal note, as he struggled with injuries which probably played a big role in the midfielder deciding to hang his boots. He must have felt that his body couldn’t cope with the rigors of fast-paced Premier League football anymore.
The midfielder put up an emotional message on his Twitter account, confirming the speculation that he will join the coaching staff at Manchester City
Hi all, here a statement from me on the next chapter in my football career… pic.twitter.com/2Xb9VifCog
— Mikel Arteta (@m8arteta) July 3, 2016
I am very happy for the lad because the experience he’s going to gain under the tutelage of a legendary manager like Guardiola would be invaluable. On the bright side, we would still get to see the lad and I’m sure he would get a great reception when the Citizens visit the Emirates in the course of the new season.
Elsewhere, the official site has announced that there is going to be a novelty match between Arsenal Legends and Milan Glorie on September 3, 2016.
via Arsenal.com
Wenger would manage a team that would feature Arsenal legends like Robert Pires, Freddie Ljungberg, Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and pretty much some of the invincibles and 98′ / 02′ double winning lot. He would face off against an AC Milan team managed by Fabio Capello, who won four Serie A titles and the UEFA Champions League for the Rossoneri. The team is going to include the likes of Paolo Maldini, Franco Baresi, Christian Vieri, Hernan Crespo and Gennaro Gattuso.
All proceeds from ticketing would go to the Arsenal Foundation and it would be used to make the world a better place.
For folks like me that are miles away in Nigeria, I would put the date on my calendar and brace myself up for a wonderful game of football. Arsenal and AC Milan have had their clashes in the past with the Rossoneri edging out the Gunners a couple of seasons ago.
Time to enjoy the public holidays and get some well deserved rest
Sayonara.
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