Mikel Arteta says he did his best to be a positive influence last season despite huge frustration at the time he spent sidelined by injury.
Arsenal’s club captain broke down with an ankle injury in November last year and eventually required surgery that kept him out for the rest of the season. So serious was the problem that the Spaniard recently admitted he delayed signing his contract extension at the Emirates until he was sure he could deliver performances at the required level.
Reflecting on a painful episode in his career the 33-year-old told Arsenal Player that his attempts to help out off the pitch couldn’t match the rush of competitive action.
“I really missed it [when I was out]. I had a really tough period last year after my last game in November and I went through some really difficult moments with my surgery.
“For me it is the frustration [that is the hardest thing] because there is always pain and you are trying to get back everyday and you spend a lot of time doing rehabilitation.
“When the players go outside for a training session, you feel wasted. They come back, they travel, they have different times to you and you don’t spend much time with them. Personally I don’t feel productive.
“I’m here because I want to play games, make this team more successful and be a part of it. When I’m not able to do that I still have to contribute, be positive, be good around the other players, give advice and try to help my team-mates. But it is not the same.
“But I worked really hard and tried to stay positive, do my best and here I am again now, earning my place in the squad and ready to help the team.”
Arteta has featured a couple of times off the bench so far this season; a role he’ll likely have to accept as the norm given the form of Francis Coquelin.
On the subject of being a super sub, he added: “You are excited but nervous as you don’t know when you are going to get thrown in. When you get thrown in you want to be ready for it with a good warm-up and ready to make an impact to help the team achieve the win.”
Of course, there will be chances to start games in the near future…there’s the Capital One Cup kicking off against Sp*rs and our annual dead rubber away at Olympiakos coming up. And if injuries strike his experience anchoring the midfield in seasons past could prove vitally important.
It’s good to have you back El Capitan.
El Capitan II i suppose…
He’s looked great whenever he’s come on this season, especially Palace away. Great to have him back, he’s a fantastic influence in the dressing room and a calming influence on the pitch.
I think you’ve nailed it. Regardless of what you think of him this guy has played well and that’s all that matters.
Il Capitan is our midfield metronome. Very welcome back!
Arteta was a decent player in his time, and apparently he’s a nice guy, but he should not have been given a new contract: he’s over the hill. His wages could have been better spent on a younger and better defensive midfielder – like Victor Wanyama. Having just one effective DM in Francis Coquelin is yet another piece of Wenger madness. Sad to hear that Giroud was booed off last night: I’ve always liked him, and for me he’s always given the best that he could; but the French public know what just about everybody in football apart from Wenger… Read more »
Complety agree. He should have been sold and replaced by a DM who could truly challenge Coq for 1st team position. 2 players per position fighting for it.
So, let me just establish the caveat that I, like everyone else, would have liked to have seen some WC players come in this season. Having said that… 1) Arteta has replaced Rosicky as the most under-rated midfielder in the PL. There’s this nonsense that he “doesn’t have the legs”, as though Matic and Pirlo and Carrick and Gerrard have been going around winning sprint-races for the last 5 years (sidenote: this also annoys me about Mertesacker. People keep telling me that Terry is the best English CB ever, and when exactly did he become a speed-demon? But I digress…).… Read more »
It’s a case of “the grass is greener.” People wanted experience instead of youth. Now we have experience, and people are crying youth. People wanted a balanced squad of experience, youth, and coverage that has an opportunity to settle – now we have just that, and people are crying for new signings.
It’s honestly frustrating how often you have to hear “transfers are not always solutions” responded with “BUT if we got Benzema…” and then watch the cycle continue.
Window’s fucking closed. Get on with it. Let’s watch some football now.
Same old BS. If RM, Barca, Juve, Milan, Man city, Chelsea, Man u… ….. …. could all find players (in several positions) to improve them… Arsenal are so good, sooooo way above the rest, so much the perfect team that they are the only team in the top 5 European league that could find no player to improve them. Complete BS By the way buying players of the same level is a very good thing as 50+ games would be well distributed and there would be fewer injuries and fatigue Like i wrote the other day AW has subdued and… Read more »
Bollox Bird. Change the record.
Your examples of older players like Pirlo are very valid…for the role they play, deep lying playmaker. Our team has finally found a rhythm (not this league season yet) with a genuine DM, who chases, harries and tough tackling. Arteta simply isn’t a like for like replacement. If we can accommodate Arteta in a similar role to Pirlo, then that would be very handy against teams that only look to park the bus. Between Ozil, Carzola and Arteta, we’ll be able to unlock most defence. However, it will not be quite appropriate to set-up without Le Coq i.e. a traditional… Read more »
This guy still has a lot to offer. I believe that he has been wrtten off quite prematurely in some quarters. He can still do a valuable job in that team – an experienced head to fall back on like in the CP game. But for Arteta, that game could easily have been a draw if not for his timely tackle in the eighteen yard box towards the end. Hope he stays fit.
Arteta, is not an youngester to be a capital one cup player! Everytime there is a bad tackle on Le Coq, it’s a worry (think Welbeck, Wilshere even Walcott). Sure Arteta is capable of filling in on short term but our luck with injuries the last few years were anything to go by this was area that needed to be addressed. It’s baffiling that someone as sharp as Wenger leaves the squad in such a risky situation. It’s not a case of lack of funds like previous years or lack of players in the market like strikers. The unspent money… Read more »
Btw, the reason I’m questioning Arteta’s position as back up is because his legs seem to have gone. Hence, he may not be able to cover for (touch wood) any lengthy lay-off of Le Coq
His legs may have gone but he came in against CP and tracked back to do a last ditch tackle to protect our lead. I didn’t know at that time that the legs were artificial. Whoever did those legs did a nice job; it looked natural.
One for the too literal!
Your example is very valid but misses the point – he came on as a sub, we’ll have wait to see if he can track back the same way the full 90 mins?
Obviously you think he can, while I think in the DM position we could have easily improved (doesn’t necessarily mean Arteta had to sold, he could play a role thats more natural to him, while Flamini should have been sold).
SB, I did not miss the point. I understood you clearly. I don’t believe his legs are gone. Look at Scholes 3 seasons ago at United – 38 years and still contributing sufficiently to a title-winning team. How old is Arteta again? 33! Yes I believe he can play 90 minutes – not in all games though. Games against the lesser light of EPL if only to give Coquelin a breather. Players like Arteta can be the intangible difference between winning a title and losing one – an experienced head who is capable of doing a job when called upon.… Read more »
Flamini doesn’t want to be sold and the law is fully behind him. He has never been sold in his senior career, to the best of my knowledge. He always stays to the end of his contract to maximise his chances of better wages when he changes teams. This business of “Flamini should have been sold” is a non-starter. You cannot sell a player against his wishes during the period he is contracted to you as a player.
You’re basing your opinion of Arteta on a season in which he played most of it with a fucked ankle. That’s not an accurate take on him.. The man held off on re-signing until he was confident he was up to the required level. So many complain about lack of player commitment, and here he is holding off on a guaranteed paycheck to do the right thing not for himself but for the club. And he’s still regularly criticized. To me that’s a top man that deserves an open minded go of it, and I definitely have the patience for… Read more »
No one has said he aint a nice person. People are just worried that he wount be good enough for a team that is supposed to challange for the title, although we all know that aint gonna happen…. Arteta seems like a real nice guy, but that might not be enough.
That’s just it, isn’t it? The first thing my comment said was current opinions are based on a season with a fucked ankle and assumptions based on age numbers. Not a proper account of his fitness or physical abilities. From what he showed his last substitute appearance, he’s got attributes of value right now.
He’s also got great potential for sharing the pitch with Coquelin when we want to control a game to death or Santi needs a break or shift elsewhere.
Unsung hero. Came to us at our lowest ebb (relatively speaking) and changed his whole game for us. Really glad he stayed, and hopefully he’s able to take some of the burden off Le Coq.
Nice hair.
Very proud to have this man as a member of the team. He is a professional and a leader. To all the people who say we shouldn’t have resigned him, who do you buy? Schneiderlin? Not that great at Utd so far. Wanyama? He was never going to be sold, and certainly not to the wankers down the street. Coquelin has had very good DM related stats this year and deserves to be first choice. but Arteta offers a slightly different toolset for the position. I think we might see Arteta used against teams that throw 10 behind the ball… Read more »
Between the 67th and 72nd minute Mikel!
Arteta is not only a great player to have off the pitch but a great back up to have for Coquelin aswell. Especially in games where the build up from deep in midfield is needed as opposed to Coquelin’s defensive prowess. Not to mention he can come on late in games as he has done recently and help us with his experience.
It kinda goes without saying but I’m so glad that we extended his contract.
Hello everyone Leaders required There was period over the past 10 years when folks came on here on a regular basis ” mouthing off” about the lack of leaders in the Arsenal team( especially if we lost a game ) . There’d be comments about there being no one to help them through difficult times on and off the pitch. ( Carling Cup Final) Now we have Arteta Per Santi Rosie etc , who each offer something unique to the team, AND we Still MOAN. Arteta has an extension on his contract for one year, Yep he may not be… Read more »
There’s no point in being a ‘leader’ if you’re past it.
What are you basing that on?
Good point. How fortunate that Churchill was in the prime of his youth when taking on Nazi Germany…
Churchill didn’t have to run five miles in 90 minutes.
No, he required fortitude, mental strength, an iron will, vast experience, a massive will to win, and the ability to inspire and lead his team against vast odds and an enemy most other people believed was unbeatable.
Well said. If we had hired Arteta on as a coach after last season, I doubt we’d have many people moaning about the wages he’s earning. Instead, we extended his contract and have him around to mentor players and lead by example by contributing what he can despite not seeing the pitch much. Rather than appreciating his selflessness, people complain that he’s earning his wages. Meanwhile, he’s staying fit and is ready to contribute on the pitch when we need to rest our Coq, or fill in for an extended period of time if our Coq gets hurt.
So Debuchy’s recent venting of his frustrations is nothing abnormal. In fact it should be healthy for top players to want to get into the first team and feel frustrated when cut off. Arteta may not have the physical dynamism of Coquelin but he is still a quality player who is positionally aware and adds with precision passing going forward. Likely he is in his last season and as I mentioned, his inclusion/retention may have signalled the fact that Wenger was not confident he could sign the eventual successor he wanted. IMO someone like Illaramendi would have been a target… Read more »
Santori, are you a management consultant?
Arteta, Flamini, and Rosisky need to be playing more frequent when fit to have an influence on this team they may get that in the cup games, this will take the pressures of of Coq, ozil, ramsey and Santi and hopefully keep them fit for the CL & League
Can someone make sure Debuchy reads this? This is how you react to an injury and returning to the squad. Welcome back Arteta…we missed you.
Yup…I’ll tell him.
Is someone photoshopped in next to chambers?
Yes, but who is it? And what are they doing there?
Is it, Alex Iwobi? He’s gotta be an Arsenal under 21er, no?