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Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta: Experiencing the toughness of Scottish football with Rangers prepared me for the Premier League
The Spaniard spent two years at Ibrox as a youngster and believes that the physicality of the game north of the border taught him a lot ahead of his move to England in 2005
| Bet: | Returns: | Rangers £15.00 | Draw £35.00 | Motherwell £60.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Rangers £15.71 | Draw £35.00 | Motherwell £70.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Rangers £14.00 | Draw £43.30 | Motherwell £85.00 |
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Jan 11, 2012 4:42:00 PM
By George Ankers
Getty Images
Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta has revealed that experiencing the physicality of Scottish football while at Rangers prepared him for life in the Premier League.
The Spaniard moved to Ibrox aged just 19 from Barcelona having been impressed by the club while on loan at Paris Saint-Germain.
While the 29-year-old admitted adapting to the relative roughness of the game in Scotland was difficult, the former Everton man believes that it taught him what was necessary to fit in when he arrived in England.
“In my second year at Paris Saint-Germain we played Rangers in the Champions League at Ibrox,” Arteta told Arsenal’s official website.
“I was really impressed with the stadium and everything that went with it.
“In February that year they came over and said they wanted to sign me. At the time I was only on loan in Paris and Barcelona wouldn't sell me to another Spanish club.
“It wasn't easy to find another club like that because they were asking for quite a lot of money for me for my age. So I took the chance to go there.
“At that moment, Rangers were a big club, with big players, playing in the Champions League.
“But Scottish football was tough, really tough. It was really physical, people got at you and I had to improve on that a lot. I think I did that to get to the level that the Premier League required of me.”
Arteta remained at Rangers for two years before spending a single season in his homeland with Real Sociedad.
The central midfielder made his debut in English football in 2005 for Everton, going on to make 208 appearances for the Toffees before joining the Gunners in the summer of 2011.
The Spaniard moved to Ibrox aged just 19 from Barcelona having been impressed by the club while on loan at Paris Saint-Germain.
While the 29-year-old admitted adapting to the relative roughness of the game in Scotland was difficult, the former Everton man believes that it taught him what was necessary to fit in when he arrived in England.
“In my second year at Paris Saint-Germain we played Rangers in the Champions League at Ibrox,” Arteta told Arsenal’s official website.
“I was really impressed with the stadium and everything that went with it.
“In February that year they came over and said they wanted to sign me. At the time I was only on loan in Paris and Barcelona wouldn't sell me to another Spanish club.
“It wasn't easy to find another club like that because they were asking for quite a lot of money for me for my age. So I took the chance to go there.
“At that moment, Rangers were a big club, with big players, playing in the Champions League.
“But Scottish football was tough, really tough. It was really physical, people got at you and I had to improve on that a lot. I think I did that to get to the level that the Premier League required of me.”
Arteta remained at Rangers for two years before spending a single season in his homeland with Real Sociedad.
The central midfielder made his debut in English football in 2005 for Everton, going on to make 208 appearances for the Toffees before joining the Gunners in the summer of 2011.
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