Mikel Arteta reveals that he was close to representing England

While Mikel Arteta is now known as a manager who took an Arsenal squad that was on the verge of becoming a mid-table side to a title contender, the Spaniard had a shockingly interesting playing career. The 42-year-old was a part of the La Masia youth academy at Barcelona but never made a senior appearance for the La Liga giants, eventually signing for PSG.

There he played alongside Ronaldinho and Mauricio Pochettino before moving to Rangers on a permanent move where he established himself as a box-to-box midfielder. But it was really his eventual move to the Premier League and Everton, where Arteta established himself as a star. Under David Moyes, the Spaniard went on to make over 200 appearances for the Toffees which earnt him a move to Arsenal.

Mikel Arteta confirms that he was close to playing for England

But because he spent over six years in England, the Spaniard was offered the chance to represent the Three Lions. Arteta confirmed this in an interview with Box to Box and revealed that Fabio Capello (England head coach from 2008 to 2012) had asked him to join the squad. That was because he stayed in the country long enough to earn citizenship and had never earned a cap for Spain.

But while he was eventually turned down by the English FA, Arteta also admitted that an injury he suffered at the time alongside his decision to play for Spain meant that the move never happened.

“Yeah, I was pretty close when [Fabio] Capello was the manager (2008-2012). I was very close but then I got injured and at the same time I was going to go to Spain, so I didn’t do it, but I would’ve been very proud to be part of that,” Arteta told Box to Box.

Mikel Arteta not shocked by Xabi Alonso’s success as a manager

While Arteta has received a lot of praise for his work at Arsenal this season, the Spaniard has been outshone by Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen. The former Real Madrid and Liverpool star has turned around the German side and are now the front-runners to win the Bundesliga title. But despite all the critics being against Alonso when he was first appointed, Arteta admitted that he isn’t shocked by Alonso’s success.

“[Xabi Alonso] the manager? I don’t know. But the player, he was there, for sure. We lived five minutes away from each other, we played against each other, we played in the same team in Antiguoko. His father was a coach. He’s been educated by some of the top managers in the world, so I’m not surprised [by his success at Bayer Leverkusen],” Arteta added.

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