Given the size and stature of both clubs, and the regular presence of both the Lions and our Gunners across European competitions, it’s more than a little surprising that this week’s Champions League clash is the first time that Arsenal and Athletic Club have locked horns competitively.
It comes just a few weeks after last month’s 3-0 victory for us in the Emirates Cup clash between the two clubs, in which Victor Gyokeres found the net for the first time in an Arsenal shirt. In fact, we have never previously played a competitive game against a team from the Basque region of Spain at all, which also includes Real Sociedad and Alaves. This will be a historic night.
Despite this, the Basque region has hugely shaped the style and attitude of Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, and the man himself. Born and raised in San Sebastian, Arteta’s formative years were spent at Antiguoko, an amateur youth club that also produced his close friend and now Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, as well as Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola and former West Ham United and Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui.
Arteta and the other Antiguoko graduates have often commented that their time at Antiguoko instilled within them a commitment to teamwork and discipline. Arteta’s loyalty to his childhood club runs deep - even as an aspiring teenager at Barcelona, he asked for training kits to be supplied to Antiguoko when signing his first boot deal with adidas.
The Basque Country is also renowned for its emphasis on technical excellence, tactical intelligence, and collective identity—values that have profoundly shaped Arteta’s approach to management. Basque clubs also place huge emphasis on nurturing their younger players in academies, which has been a key aspect of Arteta’s reign at Arsenal. The rise to prominence of Ethan Nwaneri, Myles Lewis–Skelly and Max Dowman in recent months is testimony to that.
Arteta’s professional playing career in the Basque region may have been brief – he appeared just 15 times in the Real Sociedad first-team – but like his childhood friend Xabi Alonso, who departed for Liverpool after four years with Sociedad, Arteta flourished in England with Everton, whom he joined in 2005.
In recent years, Arteta has reaped a rich harvest from the Basque region as his squad-building continues. Mikel Merino’s career flourished at Sociedad, where he developed into one of La Liga’s most complete midfielders. His vision, work ethic and goalscoring acumen reflect the Basque ideals of technical mastery and versatility.
Another Sociedad product is the composed and positionally aware Martin Zubimendi, while Martin Odegaard also spent the 2019/20 season on loan at the club from Real Madrid, before heading to N5.
As we travel to Spain to face the Basque giants, the region itself has become increasingly evident in Arsenal’s identity and approach.
Copyright 2025 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.