Mikel Arteta has described how Paris St-Germain “protected me like a son” before his Arsenal side take on the French giants in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Arteta spent a season on loan in Paris in 2001 while contracted to Barcelona and could not speak highly enough of the “perfect environment” the club gave him.
“We were in Barcelona when we got the phone call [telling me] that ‘you need to pack your bags and fly to Paris now’,” he said.
“I was 18 years old and had not played any professional football. You look at those names at the club and you think: ‘Are they sure?’ But you get there and Luis Fernandez was the manager. He was the one who believed in me.
“You need someone to give you the chance and to be surrounded by the right individuals. I was very lucky to have that.
“They protected me like a son. It was the perfect environment for me – to give me the chance and to see what I was capable of doing. It was an amazing experience.
“I wanted to stay there but I was owned by Barcelona and they couldn’t find an agreement.”