The Arsenal boss was asked to name some of the people who had had the biggest influence on him
Mikel Arteta looks on during the Premier League match between Sunderland and Arsenal at Stadium of Light . Photo by George Wood/Getty Images
Mikel Arteta looks on during the Premier League match between Sunderland and Arsenal at Stadium of Light . Photo by George Wood/Getty Images
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Mikel Arteta has named David Moyes as one of the biggest positive influences on his career.
The Arsenal boss, who will bring his team to Hill Dickinson just before Christmas, immediately brought up the Scot when asked to reflect on the people who shaped him.
Moyes was the manager who took a chance on Arteta at a time when he was struggling after a failed move to Real Sociedad. The move transformed his life and he clearly still holds Moyes in high regard for giving him an opportunity when he needed it.
Then 22, Arteta initially moved to Merseyside on loan from Sociedad in January 2005. Having developed through Barcelona’s academy he returned to Spain after a successful stint in Scotland with Rangers.
Hopes he could push on quickly evaporated though and within six months he had moved to Goodison Park in a deal that, from the start, was made with a view to a permanent move in mind.
Arteta acknowledged this at the time, stating: "I am sad to be leaving Sociedad, I went there with all the hope in the world. But it is clear that the coach is not counting on me and I can't allow that situation to continue. I didn't play well at the start of the season, but since then I have not been given a chance. I don't feel good picking up money and not playing football and I hope moving to Everton will give me this chance."
Arteta took the opportunity presented to him by Moyes, helping Everton finish fourth and secure Champions League qualification. Six years and more than 200 games later, he departed for Arsenal in a transfer deadline day deal that caused no little frustration at the Blues - Arteta telling the club he wanted to leave after Arsenal showed their hand and even taking a pay cut to secure the move, for a fee of £10m.
Arteta won two FA Cups with Arsenal and is now pursuing the Premier League title once again with the club as manager. Fourteen years after he and Moyes split ways, he still feels a fondness for him, with Arteta naming him alongside Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino as one of the biggest influences in his career.
He told Sky Sports: “David Moyes. He picked me up when I had a difficult moment in my career. Someone that I loved and I learned [from] and I appreciate a lot what he did for me, he is a really special person.”