Mikel Arteta, the teenager who grew up at PSG | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta returns to Paris on Saturday for the Champions League final at 18:00, the city where an 18-month spell at PSG helped shape him under Luis Fernandez. According to L'Équipe, the Arsenal manager arrived from Barcelona’s reserves in January 2001 and left in June 2002.

Fernandez had tracked him while at Athletic Bilbao, then brought in the 18-year-old to play in front of the defence, valuing his technique and line-breaking passing. Quiet and attentive, Arteta aimed to show Barcelona he belonged at that level.

He eased in during that first half-season, then became a key figure in 2001-02 as PSG chased the title before finishing fourth. The spring was shaped by news that he had agreed to join Rangers.

Based at a Saint-Germain-en-Laye hotel with his mother, he saw his father at weekends, while Cristobal and Mauricio Pochettino helped him settle. Pochettino initially shared the hotel and guided him from centre-back. Dressing-room chaperone Yves Ribardière recalls difficult early months, a wait of five or six months for a flat, and twice-weekly French lessons.

On 14 February 2001 he impressed in a 1-1 draw at AC Milan in the Champions League. Comparisons with Pep Guardiola became routine, which he tempered by noting he still lacked experience despite his ability to set the tempo.

Barcelona had loaned him out but sought a sale. He wanted to stay, yet no deal was struck, with a €9.15m clause and a €7.62m proposal unmet as PSG under Laurent Perpère laboured under €50m debt that Canal+ would not cover. Rangers offered €10.6m and €150,000 a month, announcing on 22 March 2002 that he would arrive in the summer. Arteta has since called Paris a springboard and thanked PSG and Fernandez, while citing Ronaldinho, Anelka, Okocha, Pochettino and Gabriel Heinze.

Source: L'Équipe