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If anyone asked you, which player has been the most important player for Arsenal this season; almost each and every one would say it is the Flying Dutchman, Robin van Persie. And I would agree with you wholeheartedly. With 22 goals in the League this season coupled with 7 assists, there’s absolutely no question why he wouldn’t be.
But there is one player who has almost gone unnoticed by not only Gooners, but football fans around the globe. I’m talking about the Spaniard in the midfield – Mikel Arteta. A player who ”keeps the midfield, ticking’, Arteta has been the best buy in Arsenal’s extraordinary deadline day transfer dealings. In fact, I’m going to go out on a limb and say he has been the best recruit of the summer for Arsenal.
Arsenal had a very busy transfer window in the summer of 2011. Club captain Cesc Fabregas left the club after a protracted transfer saga that lasted more than a year and made his dream move back to his boyhood club Barcelona. And as fans came to terms with the expected but painful departure of their young talisman, they were in for a rude shock as Samir Nasri also left the club for their Premier League rivals Manchester City. With Jack Wilshere also set to have a lengthy spell on the sidelines with an ankle injury, Arsenal’s midfield suddenly looked threadbare of quality players, with only Alex Song as the most notable player in the lineup. With the departures of Fabregas and Nasri at the peak of their form, Wenger set aside his youth project and decided to go with experience.
Enter, Mikel Arteta – one of the Premier League’s finest midfield players in recent years.
When Arteta realized Arsenal was interested, he immediately let his employers at Goodison Park know that this was a dream move for him. Having served Everton since 2005, Arteta felt the time was right for a new challenge. He had one target in mind: the UEFA Champions League, the biggest stage of all. And for a 29-year old player of his quality to miss out on Champions League football is criminal. Arsenal paid a fee in the region of £10 million and Arteta signed a 4-year deal, taking the number 8 shirt previously worn by Nasri. Arteta wasn’t a typical Wenger signing, but there was absolutely no doubt that he was a player with immense Premier League experience.
Early years
Arteta started his career in San Sebastian, Spain, where he was born. He played for an amateur club called Antiguoko, which is a feeder club to La Liga side Real Sociedad. It was where he met and befriended another famous Spanish midfielder, Xabi Alonso. The two had big dreams of playing together for Real Sociedad. But Arteta was later sent to the Nou Camp where he joined the Barcelona B side. After unsuccessful attempts to break into the first team, he was sent on loan to Paris Saint-Germain in 2000. He later joined the famous Scottish club Rangers in 2002. It was here that he found success by helping the team win the domestic treble in 2003. In 2004, he joined Real Sociedad but struggled to make it to the starting lineup with just 3 starts in the season. In January 2005, Everton took him on loan in a deal to make the move permanent in the summer.
Originally a deep lying midfielder, Everton manager David Moyes played him as an attacking midfielder. It was in this role that Arteta thrived, scoring important goals and making plenty of assists. He helped Everton qualify for the Champions League qualifying rounds and by the end of his second season at the club he had already won 2 ‘Player of the Season’ awards from the club. As the seasons wore on, he won more awards for his performances and was rated one of the best attacking players in the League after Ronaldo and Fabregas. Injuries to his stomach and knee limited his opportunities between 2008 and 2010. The knee injury he suffered in February 2009 was a bitter pill to swallow as it occurred just a few days after Arteta was included in the Spanish national squad for the first time in his career.
Arsenal’s midfield engine
When Arsene Wenger bought Arteta, fans thought he would be a direct replacement for Fabregas. That was not to be as Wenger had other plans for this vastly experienced midfielder. He pushed him back to a defensive midfield role and paired him up with Song in the 4-2-3-1 formation. This aided Arsenal tremendously in keeping possession as one of Arteta’s skills is holding on to the ball and he is not easily dispossessed, which is one of the main reasons why he gets fouled often.
Arteta leads the Premier League table in average passes per game (80.8) and this is coupled with the fact that his pass success is over 90%. Based on statistics alone, he is the only Premier League player in the top 5 in Europe for average passes per game, putting him in the company of midfield royalty like Xavi, Pirlo and Alonso. By playing in the proverbial spine of the team, his linkup play with the defenders and attacking players is what keeps the ball moving for Arsenal. Combined with his vision and ability to shoot from distance, these skills have set him apart from the rest. In fact, his goals for Arsenal have either come from the edge of the box or have been in the form of long range screamers or accurate, well placed drives.
Spain Call-up?
With sublime and consistent performances throughout the season, one can only hope that he gets to live his dream of playing for the Spanish national team. Yes, the Spanish midfield does not have a dearth of incredible talent, but to deny Arteta an international cap he thoroughly deserves would be tantamount to The Lord of the Rings not winning an Oscar.
Arsenal cannot do without him in the midfield at the moment, as was evident when he was injured in January and the Gunners struggled against Swansea and Manchester United. When the Round of 16 Champions League fixtures were announced and it threw up a mouthwatering clash between Arsenal and AC Milan with the first leg to be played at the San Siro, Mikel Arteta smiled.
“This is exactly why I came to Arsenal. In your career you want to have moments like this.”
