After winning the Premier League with Arsenal Arsenal winning the Premier League, Mikel Arteta also has a final challenge this season: defeating Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest to win the prestigious Champions League trophy. You can talk about fate or just coincidence, but the "one-on-one" battle with PSG and their creator, Luis Enrique, has been cherished for a long time.
In 2001, Arteta was a 19-year-old young man who had just graduated from La Masia academy, looking for a great first opportunity. But it seems that Barcelona's first team is not a place for him. Xavi Hernandez - 2 years older than Arteta, is gradually affirming his position. Another young talent, 2 years younger than Arteta, was then the focus of attention and would debut only 1 year later, Andres Iniesta.
Not only that, Arteta's path was also blocked by Emmanuel Petit - the World Cup champion with the French national team and the Premier League champion with Arsene Wenger's Arsenal in 1998, along with the "multi-purpose knife" Phillip Cocu. More importantly, Barca's midfield at that time was a combination of Enrique's experience and who later became Barca captain, Pep Guardiola.
Many years later, Arteta defeated one person to win the Premier League title and challenged the other for the Champions League crown. But at that time, young Mikel considered this duo as teachers. Especially Enrique.
"I greatly admire and learn a lot from him," Arteta said from 2024, when Arsenal prepares to meet PSG in the Champions League.
First opportunity in Paris
Arteta knows he cannot compete at Camp Nou, so he chooses to leave on loan. PSG, under the guidance of Spanish coach Luis Fernandez, is the destination.
For young fans who only knew about PSG's absolute dominance in Ligue 1, it was hard to imagine, but at that time, the Paris team was just a talented team but not really a championship contender. When Arteta joined in the middle of the 2000-2001 season, Nantes lifted the trophy while PSG only ranked 9th. In the following full season, PSG ranked fourth, and the championship belonged to Lyon.
Fernandez's squad at that time was extremely talented: The defense had Mauricio Pochettino (who later also led PSG) and Gabriel Heinze (currently a key member of Arteta's coaching staff). The attack had Nicolas Anelka. In midfield, Arteta was side by side with Nigerian legend Jay Jay Okocha, and a young Brazilian player, Ronaldinho.
With this squad, Arteta won 1 title – Intertoto Cup. In that journey, he played a pivotal match against Rangers. The Scottish team was so impressed that they signed him at the end of that season, after he returned to Barcelona to end his loan contract.
Reaching the Premier League
It can be said that the time at Rangers has turned a boy into a man, or at least prepared Arteta for the solidity of English football. "Scottish football is very harsh. It's about fitness; they rush at you, and I had to improve a lot to reach the level that the Premier League requires," Arteta shared in 2012.
In 2003, Arteta became the Scottish champion. After that, he had a short period at Real Sociedad before signing with Everton. The rest was history: he became a mainstay and captain of The Toffees, then moved to Arsenal, where he also held the captain's armband.
The loan period at PSG was the starting point and shaping the entire player career of Arteta. Therefore, it is logical that in the biggest match of his coaching career to date, he is facing the Paris team and Enrique.
Training turnaround
In 2019, 18 months after Wenger's 22-year reign ended, Arsenal placed their trust in Unai Emery. However, after Emery was sacked in November 2019, Arsenal's number one choice for the successor position was... Enrique.
At that time, Enrique was unemployed after leaving the Spanish national team due to family upheavals. Arsenal considered him the perfect choice. But instead of going to London, Enrique returned to lead Spain after a necessary break. Arsenal had to take another path, giving the opportunity to someone who understood the club - Arteta.
The rest is history. Arteta took over a squad considered "harmful", molding it according to his will. After many delays, in May 2026, he finally won the Premier League title, defeating even his teacher Guardiola.
Now, the challenge is to do it again in the Champions League. In Budapest, Arteta's career – full 25 years – will close a fateful cycle.
