Mikel Arteta

Who is Mikel Arteta?

Mikel Arteta Amatriain is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for and captains English club Arsenal as a midfielder.

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. He was then signed by Scottish Premier League club Rangers with whom he would win the domestic treble of the league, Scottish Cup and League Cup in the season of 2002–03. 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 then made a permanent transfer to Arsenal in 2011. He was appointed captain of the club in August 2014.

Arteta has represented Spain at under-21 level, but he has not played for the senior national team.