Arteta at PSG: The 18 months that made Mikel

Mikel Arteta was just a fresh-faced 18-year-old when his world was turned upside down by a single phonecall instructing him to pack his bags and head to Paris.

It was back in January 2001, and four years in Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy had left the young midfielder’s career at a crossroads. His pathway into Barca’s side had become incredibly congested after Emmanuel Petit had arrived from north London to join established internationals Pep Guardiola, current PSG boss Luis Enrique, Phillip Cocu, Ivan De la Pena and Jari Litmanen at the Nou Camp.

Meanwhile bright prospects Xavi, Andreas Iniesta, Simao Sabrosa, Gerard Lopez, Gabri and Bolo Zenden were waiting in the wings alongside Mikel. It was an abundance of talent and situation that new Paris Saint-Germain boss Luis Fernandez was looking to exploit.

The Parisians had enjoyed a golden period during the 1990s under his management, winning a league title, three French Cups, two League Cups and reaching five European semi-finals in succession including lifting the 1996 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup - their only major continental prize to date. However, Fernandez’s departure in 1996 ushered in a period of decline, and the club legend returned in December 2000 with his team languishing in the bottom half.

At his disposal was Nicolas Anelka who had ended his time at Real Madrid the previous summer, plus flair players Jay-Jay Okocha and Ali Benarbia. Laurent Robert, who would go on to star at Newcastle United, was the team’s talisman, while a young Sylvain Distin was getting his first taste of first-team action. But new arrivals were needed to rejuvenated a talented squad, and Hernandez had pinpointed Mikel as a key part of his rebuilding process.

It was a wrench for the teenager to move from his homeland to a new country, but despite heading into the unknown, Mikel knew it was an opportunity he had to seize, and ultimately it would begin a fine career in the game.

On that moment the phone rang, he recalled: “It was terrifying for me, it was for my family. We were in Barcelona when we got the phone call: ‘you need to pack your bags and fly to Paris, now.’ I was 18 years old, had not played any professional football and you look at those names. ‘Are they sure?’

“Luis Fernandez was the one who believed in me. That is what you need, someone to give you the chance and to be surrounded by the right individuals. They protected me like a son. It was the perfect environment for me to see what I was capable of doing.”

Mikel pitched up in Paris at the same time as Mauricio Pochettino who had been recruited from Espanyol, and the two would strike up a firm friendship. When asked about his importance on his career, Mikel said earlier this year: “He’s one of the most [influential].

“I was 17 or 18 in Paris with no experience in professional football. He doesn’t like me saying it but to me, he was like a father. He took me under his arm, he gave me incredible advice and protected me, he inspired me and I learned so much in our two years together.”

Mikel would be the youngest member of that PSG team and his task was made tougher by a language barrier - but Fernandes was not concerned: “Mikel was a boy with such intelligence,” he told The Athletic last year. He adapted by being smart on and off the field. He’s someone who had a good etiquette, a good behaviour, always very respectful.”

The learning curve was steep. Thrust intot he PSG side, Mikel’s professional debut came in a French Cup game against Auxerre which saw them beaten 4-0 on home turf, while an eye-opening league bow came in a Le Classique loss to arch-rivals Marseille.

However the Parisians were still in the Champions League, and it was in that competition that Mikel made only his second-ever career appearance - in the San Siro no less. Fernandez handed the 18-year-old a start in one of the most iconic stadia in the world, which he couldn’t quite believe.

“I was in the tunnel looking … it was Maldini, Pirlo, Shevchenko,” Mikel smiled. “They were all like this [holds his hand up high]. I was like: Really? I was thrown to the lions, really. But it turned out to be a really good match, which I really enjoyed. It was an unbelievable night."

After a 1-1 draw, the new team began to gel, and Mikel would only taste defeat twice more in his nine further games that campaign. His first professional goal arrived in a 2-2 draw against Lille, and he quickly became an indispensable member of Fernandez’s team.

“We were asking him to receive the ball technically, to turn around, to play,” Fernandez added. “By his qualities and his ease on the ball, he made things easy. He had the intelligence to pass well or to be a midfielder who imposed himself, in order to succeed.”

The seeds had been sewn for a revival in 2001/02, and the squad rebuilding saw a pair of contrasting South Americans enter the fray, Non-compromising Argentinian defender Gabriel Heinze was signed from Real Valladolid, while a young Brazilian talent called Ronaldinho arrived from Gremio for £5 million, having seen a move to Arsenal fall through due to work permit issues.

“We were roommates for a year and a half,” Mikel recalled. “He was a huge talent. He had an aura, an energy, a smile on his face … it was impossible to be next to him and be in a bad mood. I’d never seen talent like this. In training, in every drill, it was like: How is this possible? Physically, it’s impossible to do certain things. It was unbelievable to play with him.”

The season began with the Parisians swapping life in the Champions League for the Intertoto Cup, and they would go on to be one of the victors with Mikel featuring in four more matches and getting on the scoresheet in a 7-1 success over Gent.

When the league campaign got underway, the young Spaniard built up a strong midfield partnership with club stalwart Edouard Cisse, with Cisse tasked with winning back possession while Mikel pulled the strings. “I had to do all the defending because I had Ronaldinho and Okocha in front of me - imagine!” he laughed. “It was super, almost unreal. It was a dream for me. I was so blessed.”

Progress was once again slow, but steady. 10 draws from their opening 18 games soon gave way to nine wins from the last 16 as Ronaldinho began to find his goalscoring groove, Anelka departed to Liverpool on loan after a disagreement with Fernandez, and the young Arteta continued to gain experience.

UEFA Cup qualification via the Intertoto Cup win saw them beat Rapid Bucharest and Rapid Vienna, setting up what would prove to be a career-altering fixture for Mikel in the third round against Rangers. Such was his influence on Fernandez’s side, when Rangers scouted PSG ahead of their tie, the report came back saying ‘Young Arteta is their most influential player’.

He would be on the field for every minute of the two legs which both finished goalless but PSG exited on penalties despite the 19-year-old stepping up third to take one behind Okocha and Ronaldinho.

Despite that cup exit and PSG’s early patchy form seeing them out of title contention, they eventually rallied to a fourth-place finish, reestablishing themselves among the league’s elite.

With a happy 18-month spell under his belt, it seemed certain that Mikel’s future was in the French capital, but he had become one of the most sought-after talents in world football. “At that moment owned by Barcelona and they didn't find an agreement,” Mikel stated. “I was so happy there, I wanted to stay but in the end, I had to do something else.”

As PSG struggled to negotiate with Barcelona, in March 2002 Rangers pounced, and he was on his way to Glasgow for £6 million. Despite all the upheaval behind the scenes and his days in Paris petering out, Mikel remained a fixture in the side, playing in five of the last six games to help with a push into the top three and a return to the Champions League, but they fell just a point shy.

The campaign though ended on a high note for Mikel, who was named in the Division One Team of the Year, alongside Ronaldinho and Heinze to further highlight his growing reputation in the game. He ended his time in Paris with 53 appearances, five goals, a blossoming reputation and plenty of memories.

While he began the next chapter of his career, his absence would be felt as PSG finished in the bottom half for the first time since 1988 in 2002/03, and Mikel would become a cult hero at Ibrox, with his debut campaign culminating in a crucial last-day penalty conversion to help them clinch a domestic treble.

But he will always look back at those 18 months in Paris with such happiness, and ultimately set the pathway to him becoming the success that he has in the Emirates dugout.

“It was a platform to share an experience in a club of that size and a city that is probably the most beautiful in Europe,” he said. “It was an experience that will stay with me forever, with teammates who shaped who I wanted to be as a player, and ignited something in me to become a manager.”