Mikel Arteta
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mikel Arteta | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Everton | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of February 2 2006 | |||
Mikel Arteta (born March 26 1982 in San Sebastian, Basque Country, Spain) is a football (soccer) player. He is an attacking midfield player, currently playing for English Premiership club Everton
He began his football career at FC Barcelona B squad at 15 years of age. After 3 years of mediocrity he had a loan spell in 2000 with Paris Saint-Germain. He joined Scottish club Rangers in 2002 for £6m where he remained for two seasons, winning the 2003 Scottish Premier League title as well as the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup. He enjoyed a successful first season at Rangers and quickly established himself as a first team regular and a fans favourite. But unfortunately injuries and loss of form blighted his second season and he was forced to move on once again.
He joined Real Sociedad in 2004 as a replacement for Liverpool bound Xabi Alonso but failed to establish himself in the team and was loaned out to Everton in the 2005 January transfer window with a view to a permanent transfer if the loan went well.
He played a vital part of helping Everton reach UEFA Champions League qualification and after the departure of Thomas Gravesen, Arteta filled the gap left by the Danish midfielder. He capitalized on his half-season form by an excellent free kick in the 4-0 demolition of Crystal Palace, and sealed his permanent transfer to Everton that summer, putting pen to paper on a five year deal on the 15 July 2005 - Arteta was signed permanently by the Merseyside club for a fee of £2 million.
Arteta is also a former Spanish U21 player, and his current form for Everton has been met with calls from manager David Moyes for him to be selected for the full national squad. [1]
Mikel Arteta in training for Everton.