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Who is Mikel Arteta?
Professional Spanish soccer manager and former player Mikel Arteta was born in San Sebastian, Spain, on 26 March 1982, making Aries his zodiac sign. He’s today the manager of Arsenal of the English Premier League, but is perhaps known better for the time when he was a professional soccer player, and during which he played with a number of clubs, including Everton, Paris Saint-Germain and Rangers; he also played for the Spanish national youth team, but never for their senior team.
Mikel’s regarded as one of the best soccer players of the 21st century.
Thanks for your words and support.Feeling better already.We’re all facing a huge & unprecedented challenge.Everyone’s health is all that matters right now.Protect each other by following the guidelines & we’ll come through this together.Well done PL for making the right decisions pic.twitter.com/0rnwHmQWha
— Mikel Arteta (@m8arteta) March 13, 2020
Education and early life
Mikel was raised by his mother Llle-Heilen Aru and father Kalju Aru in San Sebastian, but because they prefer to be left out of media, not many other details have been disclosed about them. Mikel’s believed to be an only child, as he’s yet to speak about having siblings.
He fell in love with soccer at a very early age and often played with his friends from the neighborhood; Mikel eventually joined the team Antiguoko and there met another mid-fielder Xabi Alonso, who went on to become one of the best mid-fielders of his generation. Mikel and Xabi played together nearly every weekend, until Mikel and his Antiguoko teammates Mikel Yanguas and Jon Alvarez left the city to trial at La Masia, the Barcelona’s youth academy.
All three went on to sign their first professional contracts with Barcelona, but because the lifestyle was very strict, Mikel’s friends soon left the academy. He then spent most of his time with soccer legends Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta, and went on to meet Spanish professional soccer manager Pep Guardiola.
Although training with the first team, Mikel played for Barcelona B of Sequnda Division B and soon learned that he couldn’t succeed in Barcelona.
He matriculated from high school in 2000 and then didn’t attend college.
Mikel’s career
Mikel was loaned to Paris Saint-Germain for 18 months in the second half of 2000 and played his first match on 10 February 2001, which the team lost 4-0 to Auxerre in the 2001 Coupe de France. His debut in French Division 1 was a loss against Marseille on 17 February 2001.
His second season with Paris Saint-Germain was a lot better as they won the 2001 UEFA Internoto Cup, and although the team wanted to keep him after the loan ended, Mikel instead chose to return to Barcelona.
Instead of staying with Barcelona, Mikel signed a £6 million contract with the Glasgow Rangers in Scotland in March 2002, and his first season was quite successful, which was why he was made a starter. The Rangers scored the domestic treble in the 2002-2003 season, as they won the Scottish League Cup, the Scottish Cup and the Scottish Premier League.
In 2004, Mikel signed a €5.2 million contract with Real Sociedad, however, he started only three league matches, and then returned home to San Sebastian.
The year 2005 saw him transferred on a loan to Everton, in Liverpool England, and after performing well on the field, Mikel signed a five-year contract with the team in July 2005. His first season saw him named Players’ Player of the Season and Everton Player of the Season, while he was named Players’ Player of the Season again for the 2006-2007 season.
He signed a new five-year contract with Everton in August 2007, and another five-year extension in August 2010, however, Mikel signed a four-year £10 million contract with Arsenal. London on 31 August 2011, and was with them until his retirement at the end of the 2014-2015 season.
Career as a soccer coach
Mikel had three options to choose from when he retired: to coach at Manchester City, at Tottenham Hotspur or to lead the Arsenal Academy; he became an assistant coach at Manchester City on 3 July 2016. During his three years there, Mikel’s team won two EFL Cups, one FA Cup and two Premier League titles.
He became the head coach of Arsenal on 20 December 2019, signing a contract which was to keep him with the team until 2023; Mikel led them to win the 2020 FA Cup, but they lost in the 2021 FA Cup in the fourth round.
Most recently, in 2023, Mikel led Arsenal to win the FA Community Shield, and finished runner-up in the EPL.
Love life and marriage
Mikel prefers to keep the details of his love life to himself, but it’s known that he’s today married and has three children. He and Spanish-Argentine actress, model and TV show host Lorena Bernal Pascual married in a private but large ceremony on 24 July 2010; Lorena has 23 acting credits, and is perhaps still known best for portraying Mia Fernandez in the 2007 episode “My Nanny” of the crime action series “CSI: Miami”.
She gave birth to their son Gabriel in 2009, their second son Daniel followed in 2012, and Lorena gave birth to their third son Oliver in 2015.
There are no other women whom Mikel’s been with, that we know about; he’s married to Lorena Bernal as of August 2023, and they have three sons together.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Mikel’s fluent in English, Catalan, Basque and Spanish, and can also speak Portuguese, Italian and French.
Since 2021, He’s been featured in the Amazon Original documentary series “All or Nothing: Arsenal”.
More than a million people are following Mikel on Instagram today, but he’s posted only 28 pictures and videos onto the network; most feature him working with Arsenal, spending time with his wife and travelling.
Mikel works out on a daily basis, whether if it’s on the soccer field or at the gym.
Morgan Freeman’s one of his favorite actors, and some of his favorite movies include “Wanted”, “Bruce Almighty” and “The Shawshank Redemption”.
Height, eyes and wealth
Mikel’s age is 41. He has blue eyes and short black hair, is 5ft 9ins (1.75m) tall and weighs around 160lbs (72kgs).
Mikel’s net worth’s been estimated at over $25 million, as of August 2023.
