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Mikel Arteta
Personal information
Full name	Mikel Arteta Amatriain
Date of birth	26 March 1982 (1982-03-26) (age 27)
Place of birth	San Sebastián, Spain
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Everton
Number	10
Youth career
1997–1999	Barcelona
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1999–2002 2000–2002 2002–2004 2004–2005 2005 2005–	Barcelona B → PSG (loan) Rangers Real Sociedad → Everton (loan) Everton	026 0(1) 031 0(2) 050 (12) 015 0(1) 012 0(1) 118 (16)
National team2
1999 1999–2001 2002–2003	Spain U17 Spain U18 Spain U21 Basque Country	007 0(0) 013 0(1) 012 0(2) 001 0(0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 November 2009. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 23 July 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Mikel Arteta Amatriain (born 26 March 1982 in San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, Spain) is a Spanish footballer. He is a midfielder, currently playing in the English Premiership for Everton.

[edit] Club career

Arteta playing against SK Brann in the UEFA Cup in 2008.

[edit] Early career

Arteta began his football career at the local side Antiguoko and befriended fellow midfielder Xabi Alonso. The twosome would often play along the beaches of San Sebastián and dreamed of playing together at Real Sociedad when they were older. However, Mikel left for the FC Barcelona B squad at 15 years of age while Xabi signed for Real Sociedad later. Despite his potential Arteta failed to break into the first team, and went out on loan with Paris Saint-Germain in 2002.

[edit] Rangers

He joined Scottish club Rangers in 2002 for £6.5 million where he remained for two seasons, winning the 2003 Scottish Premier League title as well as the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup. Arteta enjoyed a successful first season at Rangers and quickly established himself as a first team regular and a fans' favourite. However, injuries and loss of form blighted his second season and he was forced to move on once again.

[edit] Real Sociedad

He joined Real Sociedad for €5.2 million, his hometown club, in 2004 as a replacement for Liverpool-bound Alonso but failed to establish himself in the team.

[edit] Everton

Everton Manager David Moyes signed Arteta 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 UEFA Champions League qualification. He scored his first Everton goal in the 4-0 victory over Crystal Palace. Arteta signed a five year deal in July 2005 for a fee of £2 million.

In the UEFA Champions League 3rd Qualifying round Arteta scored a free-kick from just outside the box, his second goal for the club.^[1]

The 2005–06 season saw Arteta pick up both the Everton Fans' Player of the Season and the Players' Player of the Season awards.^[2] Arteta's good form extended into 2006–07. As well as retaining his starting place, he frequently turned in man-of-the-match displays, and finished the season with nine goals from the 35 league games he played. Arteta was awarded the Player of the Season Award for the second consecutive year.^[2] He was also voted the Premiership's 'Midfielder of the Year' by the readers of Sky Sports, beating Footballer of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo.^[3]

Arteta carried that rich vein of form into the following season where his creativity was an essential part of Everton's attacking play. He had also added goals to his game, notching six goals by the end of January.^[4]

That improved further a season later, netting 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 that was still not enough to earn him a call-up into the full Spain squad.^[4]

During the summer of 2007 he signed a new five-year contract, extending his stay at Goodison until 2012.^[4]

Arteta 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 niggling stomach injury in the second half of the season, meaning his effectiveness was reduced. Shortly before the final game of the campaign, he underwent surgery to rectify the problem.^[4] He scored his first goal of the 2008–2009 season in the Premier League opener versus Blackburn with a free kick into the left hand side of the post. He is on his way to regaining his previous best form after that niggling injury last year which affected his performances.^[5] For the 2-2 draw with Newcastle United he captained the side. He also scored a penalty in this game. On 22 February, Arteta was carried off on a stretcher in the 0-0 draw with Newcastle with a knee ligament injury, which kept him out for the rest of the 2008–09 campaign.

Arteta is expected to return in Feb of the 2009-10 Premier League season.

[edit] International career

Arteta has made twelve appearances, scoring once for the Spanish U-21 side, Although born in Spain, Arteta may soon become eligible to play for England under the FIFA five-year residency rule. In October 2008, a group of Everton fans began an online campaign to get the midfielder selected. Arteta has said in an interview to Football365.com that he still hopes to play for Spain one day.^[6]

[edit] Style of play

While initially thought of as a "pivot" or defensive midfielder in the mould of his hero Josep Guardiola,^[7] it is only since being moved to the wing by David Moyes that Arteta's career has truly begun to flourish. Although he achieved moderate success from central midfield with PSG and Rangers, his move to the wing saw him rated as the sixth most effective player in the Premier League in 2006-07 by the official player ratings system the Actim Index.In 08/09 he also shown that he could still play centre-mid and show flair.

His style of play is characterised by excellent close control and dribbling, which coupled with short bursts of acceleration allows him to eliminate defenders with relative ease.^[8][9]

With 100 fouls committed against him last year he was the most fouled player in the Premier League.^[10].

Additionally, he has proved an extremely potent creative force thanks mainly to his pinpoint crossing ability and propensity for the killer pass, with his total of 13 league assists^[10] in the 2006–07 season being second only to Cristiano Ronaldo. He is also renowned for his ability from set pieces, with 14 of Everton's 52 league goals last season coming from an Arteta free kick or corner.

[edit] Career statistics

Correct as of 4 November 2009

(* Includes FA Cup and League Cup)

[edit] Honours

International

• UEFA European U16 Championship: 1999

Rangers

• Scottish Premier League: 2003
• Scottish Cup: 2003
• Scottish League Cup: 2003

Individual

• Everton Player of the Season: 2006, 2007
• Everton Player's Player of the Season: 2006
• Sky Sports Midfielder of the Year: 2007
• North West Player of the Year: 2007

[edit] Personal life

Arteta's girlfriend is the former 'Miss Spain' Lorena Bernal.^[11] They have a son named Gabriel. He is close friends with Xabi Alonso, who plays for Real Madrid. The two used to be neighbours at Liverpool's Albert Dock apartment complex.^[11] Other neighbours include Pepe Reina, Everton ex team mate Nuno Valente and ex-Everton and current Barnsley player Anderson de Silva. He also shares a close friendship with Everton teammate Tim Cahill.

Arteta is multilingual, speaking fluent Spanish, Basque and Catalan. He speaks English and some French and Italian. He is also learning Portuguese.^[12]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Mikel Arteta career stats at Soccerbase
• Profile at evertonfc.com
• Profile at Yahoo! Sports
• Profile at 4thegame.com
• Photos and stats at sporting-heroes.net
• Mikel Arteta French league stats at lfp.fr (French)
• Mikel Arteta FIFA competition record
• Mikel Arteta at the Internet Movie Database

v • d • e Spain squad – UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship 1999 Winners (5th Title) 1 Aitor • 2 Albert • 3 Alegre • 4 Arteta • 5 Ballester • 6 Corrales • 7 Duque • 8 Elías • 9 Ernesto • 10 Jonathan • 11 Mario • 12 Nano • 13 Parri • 14 Perona • 15 Reina • 16 Relaño • 17 Rubén • 18 Sancet • Coach: Santisteban