Mikel Arteta made professional debut as a substitute for Pep Guardiola as a 16-year-old

On Jan 27, 2023

Mikel Arteta made his professional debut by coming on for Pep Guardiola as a 16-year-old substitute.

Arteta, 40, was scouted by Barcelona aged 15 and joined the Catalan giants in a move he “couldn’t refuse”. There, the midfielder rubbed shoulders with legends like Luis Figo and Ronaldo Nazario, as well as future friend, mentor and rival manager Guardiola.

The Spaniard’s first step into management came after Guardiola convinced him to become his assistant coach at Manchester City, following Arteta’s retirement at Arsenal in 2016. The pair dominated English football by winning two Premier Leagues, two EFL Cups and an FA Cup.

Now Arsenal manager, Arteta is Guardiola’s biggest domestic rival. His revolution at Arsenal has resulted in the north Londoners leading reigning league champions City by five points with a game in hand at the midway point of the 2022/23 season.

But the two managers’ paths are even more intertwined than initially thought. Arteta revealed back in 2005, during his playing days at Everton, that his professional debut in fact saw him replace his idol Pep on the field.

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He replaced his idol Pep Guardiola [R] as a sub
(Image: Getty Images)

He told The Independent: “I played my first game for Barcelona at 16 when I came on as a substitute for Guardiola. I found myself playing alongside Rivaldo, Figo, Kluivert, Luis Enrique, all superstars, but they were brilliant with me on and off the pitch.

“I had supported Barcelona as a boy because of the way they played and Guardiola was my hero, as he was to a lot of people in Barcelona because of his personality and character, as well as his ability as a player.”

Arteta failed to break into the first team and went out on loan to Paris Saint-Germain in December 2000. He would join Rangers in a permanent £6million deal two years later.

The midfielder eventually left for PSG
(Image: Icon Sport)

Mikel Arteta went on to work under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City
(Image: Getty)

Arteta said on parting ways with Barcelona: “It was disappointing to leave but sometimes it is more important to have your feet on the floor, to take a look around you and realise that with Guardiola and other, more established midfielders ahead of me, I would need to wait another three years before I got in the team.

“So I decided to go Paris and play in the Champions’ League and maybe come back in two years.”

The pair are close friends despite their two clubs competing for the Premier League
(Image: Getty Images)

His gamble paid off as he became a star player at Everton, winning the club’s Player of the Season award twice in the mid-noughties. That gave him the platform to secure a dream move to Arsenal later in his career, where he won two FA Cups as captain before eventually returning as manager.

Having won the FA Cup as Arsenal head coach in 2020, Arteta is now eyeing victory again in a competition which no club has won on more occasions than the Gunners. But awaiting him in the fourth round tie on Friday in the opposition technical area will be his old friend Guardiola.