Facts You Didn’t Know about Mikel Arteta, Coronavirus Patient
It was just four month ago when the club’s former midfielder replaced the team’s interim head coach, Freddie Ljungberg, after Unai Emery was sacked in November.
Since then he has been trying to help the team with their results as currently they are 9th in the Premier League. Just before his Coronavirus test, the coach helped the Gunners to win their match against West Ham with a 1-0 result.
However, later he was tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, which resulted in an emergency Premier League meeting where all games were postponed and the league announced suspended. Later on Monday his wife Lorena Bernal announced that Arteta is fine and that if his illness wasn't coronavirus, he would have stayed on the training pitch.
Arteta is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a midfielder during his professional life as a football player. He is currently the head coach of The Gunners, while previously he was Guardiola’s co-assistant at Manchester City. Arteta started out as a trainee with FC Barcelona but could not break his way into the first team and was eventually loaned to Paris Saint-Germain in the French league. Later he was signed by Scottish Premier League club Rangers. After success in Scotland, Arteta moved back to Spain to play for Real Sociedad but failed to establish himself within the first team and was loaned to Everton for the remainder of the 2004–05 season, prior to signing permanently in July 2005. He made a permanent transfer to Arsenal in 2011, and was appointed captain of the club in August 2014. Arteta won two FA Cups and two FA Community Shields with Arsenal, before his contract expired at the end of the 2015-16 season.
Now that we know all these facts, it’s time to know a little bit more about the young coach.
Facts you didn’t know about Mikel Artetal, the new Coronavirus patient
Are you ready? Let’s keep on…
Early life
Mikel Arteta Amatriain, known as Mikel Arteta was born on March 26, 1982 at the coastal city of San Sebastián in Spain. He was born to parents whom little is known about. He was just a toddler when he suffered a rare health condition in which his heart was not getting the right supply of clean blood. As a result, he required an emergency heart operation that only a few doctors in Spain had practical knowledge of.
This is while he had a strong passion for football that his parents couldn’t stop. Therefore, they were forced to consult medical experts to see how great was the risk for young Arteta to play football.
Body measurements
Before going through his soccer career, we want to talk about his appearances. Mikel is a very good looking and handsome man. He is 5 feet 9 inches tall (179 cm) and he weighs about 65-69 kilograms. He has an athletic body with light brown eyes and dark brown hair.
Personal life
Wife: Arteta's wife is the former Miss Spain Lorena Bernal. She is an Argentine-Spanish actress, television host and model. She was born in May 1981. She is 5 feet 8 inches (173 cm) tall, she has brown hair and blue green eyes.
Children: He has three sons with his wife; Gabriel who was born in 2009, Daniel was born in 2012 and Oliver was born in 2015.
Friendship: As we said Arteta is close friends with Xabi Alonso, who plays for FC Bayern Munich. The two used to be neighbours at Liverpool's Albert Dock apartment complex.
Skills: Arteta is multilingual as he speaks Spanish, Basque, Catalan and English fluently while he speaks some French, Italian and Portuguese as well.
Net worth
The 37-year-old has earned the sum of a good amount of money and salary from his current profession in the field of sports industry since 1991. It is said that currently his net worth is $19 million. It has been said that his current contract is based on the same amount Unai Emery received as Arsenal coach as he earns almost $6 million annually from coaching the team.
Football career
Born in San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, Arteta began his football career at Antiguoko. He was used to play football with his fellow midfielder, Xabi Alonso, every weekend back in that time. The two would often play along the beaches and gutters of San Sebastián and dreamed of playing together at Real Sociedad.
However, later Arteta left for the FC Barcelona B squad at the age of 15 while Alonso signed for Real Sociedad later. Despite his potential, Arteta failed to break into the first team, and went out on loan to French club Paris Saint-Germain in December 2000. In Paris, during a season and a half, Arteta was used by manager Luis Fernandez primarily as a playmaker. PSG wanted to keep Arteta at the end of the loan period, and did have a buy first option. However, Arteta transferred to Rangers in March 2002, after the Scottish club made a more financially impressive offer to Barcelona.
Rangers
The Scottish club, Rangers, signed Arteta in March 2002 in a $7.26 million transfer deal. He enjoyed a successful first season at Rangers and quickly established himself as a first team regular and a fans' favourite. Rangers completed the domestic treble of the Scottish Premier League title as well as the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup. However, it has to be said that Arteta was injured shortly before the 2003 Scottish Cup Final and missed the match.
Later on, the Spanish player started his second and final season with the Rangers in excellent form, scoring 6 goals in Rangers' first 6 games of the season. However, Rangers ended the season empty handed as Celtic completed the domestic sweep of trophies. He returned to Spain after two seasons in Glasgow.
Real Sociedad
Arteta joined Real Sociedad for $6.32 million in 2004 with the idea of playing alongside Alonso. However, Alonso left for Liverpool and Arteta failed to establish himself in the team.
Everton
Arteta was signed by Everton in the 2005 January transfer window on loan with a view to a permanent transfer. Seen as a replacement for Danish midfielder Thomas Gravesen, Arteta played a vital part in helping Everton achieve the possibility of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League; but sadly, they were knocked out in the last qualifying round. Arteta signed a permanent five-year deal in July 2005 for a fee of $8.80 million.
Arteta's creativity was an essential part of Everton's attacking play the following season, and he had scored six goals by the end of January. That improved further a season later, with Arteta scoring nine times in the 2006–07 season and once again ending the season as the Player of the Year. He helped Everton secure a place in the UEFA Cup and was ranked by the ACTIM Index as the sixth best player in the Premiership, but it did not earn him a call-up into the full Spain squad. During the summer of 2007, he signed a new five-year contract.
The young coach, added another accolade to his growing collection during the 2007–08 season, when he picked up North West Footballer of the Year award. He then became the first Everton player in five years to receive the Liverpool Echo's Sports Personality of the Year award in January 2008.
Arteta suffered a stomach injury in the second half of the season, and shortly before the final game of the campaign, he underwent surgery to rectify the problem.
In February, the former midfielder was carried off on a stretcher in a 0–0 draw with Newcastle having injured a ligament in his knee, days after his first inclusion in the Spanish national team squad. The injury kept him out for the rest of the 2008–09 season, missing the 2009 FA Cup Final, and the first five months of 2009–10. Over the course of the season, Arteta began to play again in the center of the field, usually being partnered with a defensive midfielder, giving him the freedom to dictate the tempo of the game and connecting with Pienaar and Osman on the wing.
Arteta made his return from injury in January 2010 as a substitute in an FA Cup tie against Birmingham City, before starting in a 2–1 home Premier League win against Chelsea. His first two goals of the season were scored in a 5–1 win over Hull City in March 2010. In August that year, he signed a five-year contract extension with Everton.
The 2010/11 season proved to be not as successful as expected for both the team and the player. After early goals in the season, against Manchester United and in the Merseyside Derby 2–0 victory, Arteta suffered a loss of form that would be crucial in Everton's push for a European spot. He began to show again glimpses of creative power in the final part of the season, when he was played again on the wing, enjoying more freedom and space.
Upon departing Everton, Arteta said "I am 29 years old so I haven’t got much time left to take a chance like this one. I have done my best for Everton." A few weeks later, he revealed to the Liverpool Echo that the spirit in Everton's dressing room is the 'best in football'.
Arsenal
Arteta signed with Arsenal on 31 August 2011 on a four-year deal for a reported fee of £10 million. Arteta was given the number 8 jersey, which was last worn by Samir Nasri, who had left the club for Manchester City just over a week earlier. He made his debut on 10 September in a 1–0 home win against Swansea City. Arteta scored his first Premier League goal for Arsenal in a 4–3 loss against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park.
Arteta got his first chance to captain the Gunners in the third-round FA Cup victory over Leeds United, most notably remembered for the second debut of Thierry Henry. He then scored a brilliant 35-yard free-kick on 24 March in a 3–0 win over Aston Villa, helping his team go a further three points ahead of North London rivals Spurs in the race to secure Champions League football.
Arteta suffered an ankle sprain in his side's 2–1 loss to Wigan Athletic on 16 April after less than ten minutes, which sidelined him for the remainder of the season. This, however, did not detract from his excellent first season at Arsenal; as a result he was voted by the fans as the fifth most important player of the 2011–12 campaign in Arsenal's Player of the Season poll.
On 17 August, Arteta was announced as the new vice captain of the club after the departure of former captain Robin van Persie. Following the departure of Alex Song, Arteta had moved into a deeper role and has adapted well to it. He was voted by the fans as the fourth best player of the 2012–13 campaign in Arsenal's Player of the Season poll, after leading the team to their 17th consecutive top four finish.
Arteta missed Arsenal's first four games of the Premier League 2013–14 season due to injury, but returned to the squad before their game against Stoke City. On 26 October 2013, he scored his first goal of the season in a 2–0 away win over Crystal Palace from the penalty spot. However, he was sent off later in the same match by referee Chris Foy for a foul on Marouane Chamakh. He received his second red card of the season in Arsenal's 2–0 defeat to Napoli in a Champions League group stage match in December 2013. On 8 March 2014, the Gunner’s coach scored a penalty against Everton in the FA Cup quarter-final, helping Arsenal to a 4–1 win. On 12 April 2014, Arteta scored one of the penalties in the FA Cup semi-final shootout against Wigan Athletic to send Arsenal to the final. On 17 May 2014, Arteta received his first major honours with Arsenal, captaining the team as they beat Hull City 3–2 at Wembley Stadium in the 2014 FA Cup Final.
In August 2014, Arteta was announced as Arsenal's new club captain. He described the appointment as "a big honour and a privilege, with a big responsibility". On 10 August, he won his first trophy as full-time captain, playing the full 90 minutes as Arsenal beat Manchester City 3–0 in the 2014 FA Community Shield.
On 8 July 2015, manager Arsène Wenger revealed that Arteta had signed a one-year extension with Arsenal. Arteta came on as a substitute as Arsenal beat Chelsea 1–0 to win the 2015 FA Community Shield. This was his first competitive appearance for the club since November 2014. On 15 May 2016, Arsenal confirmed Arteta would leave the club when his contract.
International career
Arteta has played for Spain at Under-16, Under-17, Under-18 and Under-21 levels but has not played for the senior international team. He represented Spain in the U16 European Championships, UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup, and FIFA U17 World Cup, and captained Spain in the U21 European Championships qualifying campaign.
In August 2010, several British news organisations reported that Arteta would be eligible to play for the England national football team due to his eligibility for a British passport. However, he was not able to do so because FIFA Statutes stipulate that the player needs to have held a British passport at the time when he represented Spain at the U16 European Championships and in addition he would have required five years of education in Britain before turning 18.
Coaching career
Manchester City
On 3 July 2016, Arteta was appointed to join Manchester City as a joint assistant coach, alongside fellow co-assistants Brian Kidd and Domènec Torrent, and manager Pep Guardiola. However, that was not the end for the young coach.
Arsenal
Artat Joined Arsenal as their coach back in December 2019 after Emery was sacked after a 2–1 defeat at home to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League group stages. The club were on a seven-game winless run across all competitions and that was the reason for him to be sacked. To coach the team in his absence, former player and assistant first team coach Freddie Ljungberg was appointed as the interim head-coach. Then lateron 20 December 2019, Arsenal Mikel Arteta as their new head coach on a three-and-a-half-year contract.
