Of all the tests Mikel Arteta faced during his playing career, it is the one at Paris Saint-Germain that still defines him. ‘I’m still grateful to the club that believed in me at the age of 18,’ he reflected yesterday.
That loan spell was perhaps overshadowed by the midfielder’s later experiences — his two seasons at Rangers, then six years with David Moyes at Everton — but its value is evident in his handling of the likes of teenager Ethan Nwaneri today.
The 18-year-old Arteta arrived in the bitter cold of Paris in January 2001.