Mikel Arteta Amatriain (born 26 March 1982) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player, who is the current manager of club Arsenal. Arteta began his senior career at Barcelona in 1999 but limited playing time led to a loan to Paris Saint-Germain in 2001. He then signed for Rangers, winning the Scottish Premier League and Scottish League Cup double in his debut season. After a brief return to hometown club Real Sociedad, Arteta joined Everton on loan in 2005; he later signed permanently. He signed for Arsenal in 2011, where he won two FA Cups and served as captain from 2014 until his retirement in 2016. Arteta represented Spain through several youth levels, but never played for the senior national team. After retiring, he was appointed as an assistant coach to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. In 2019, he returned to Arsenal as head coach and won the FA Cup in his first year; his title was changed to manager in September 2020 to reflect his broader remit at the club. Playing career Early career Born in San Sebastián, Basque Country, Arteta began his football career at Antiguoko and befriended fellow midfielder Xabi Alonso as they played together every weekend. The two often played along the beaches and gutters of San Sebastián and dreamed of playing together at Real Sociedad. Club career Arteta left for the FC Barcelona B squad at 15 years of age while Alonso signed for Real Sociedad later. Arteta failed to break into the first team, and went out on loan to French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in December 2000. During a season and a half in Paris, Arteta was used by manager Luis Fernández primarily as a playmaker. He made his first appearances in the UEFA Champions League in the 2000–01 second group stage. PSG wanted to keep Arteta at the end of the loan period, and did have a 'buy first' option. Instead, Arteta was signed by Rangers in March 2002, after the Scottish club made a financially stronger offer to Barcelona, leaving the French club after the end of the 2001–02 season. Rangers Arteta signed for Scottish club Rangers in March 2002 in a £6 million transfer deal. He enjoyed a successful first season in Glasgow and quickly established himself as a first-team regular. Highlights were scoring on his Old Firm debut, and converting a late penalty on the final day