Mikel Arteta insists his time at Rangers helped him set the base for a career in the Premier League that now sees him manage Arsenal.
The former midfielder celebrated three years in the job at the Gunners this week and they are pushing champions Manchester City for the title. Back in his playing days, a fresh-faced Arteta rocked up in Govan over 20 years ago from the Barcelona youth academy, staying for two years before returning back to Spain with Real Sociedad.
But in his time in the city, the fierce derby clashes with Celtic left him stunned and while he feels compelled to say Arsenal's match with Tottenham is his favourite local clash, it was Scotland's biggest that left him shocked. Rangers also helped prepare him for a move to Everton in 2005, which led on to a pivotal spell with his current club where he retired in 2016 before coaching with Pep Guardiola's City side for three years.
He told Sky Sports: "Now that I am here, then I have to say the north London derby. But one that probably has surprised me or I was really impressed with was the Old Firm derby when I was in Glasgow. That was electric.
"First of all, I was quite a good student. I thought my English was pretty good.
"But when I arrived in Glasgow, then I realised that it was a different language almost. I was so lucky.
"They welcome me so well and in a really special way. It’s special people and I am so grateful.
"It helped me so much from my transition to playing in the Premier League and we had some very great moments there.”
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