Mikel Arteta

Mikel Arteta Salary

£8,008,000 per year (£154,000 per week)

Mikel Arteta Net Worth

$30 million

Mikel Arteta Nationality

Spanish 🇪🇸

Mikel Arteta Age

44 years old

Mikel Arteta Current Club

Arsenal

Mikel Arteta Contract

Expires June 2027

Mikel Arteta Religion

Catholic

Mikel Arteta Wife

Lorena Balsells

Mikel Arteta Hometown

San Sebastián, Spain

Mikel Arteta Career Trophies

6 major trophies as a manager

Early Life

Mikel Arteta Amatriain was born on 26 March 1982 in San Sebastián in the Basque Country. A gifted midfielder, he came through the youth academies of Real Sociedad and Barcelona before joining Rangers as a teenager. He went on to play for Everton and Arsenal, winning two FA Cups with the Gunners and becoming captain under Arsène Wenger. His playing career was ended prematurely by injury in 2016, but his time as a player at top clubs gave him an elite education in professional football.

Managerial Career

Arteta spent three years as Pep Guardiola's assistant at Manchester City — widely regarded as one of the best tactical apprenticeships in football — before being appointed Arsenal head coach in December 2019. His first two seasons were turbulent, but he laid foundations that transformed the club's culture. By 2022-23 Arsenal were Premier League title challengers, finishing second, and he has kept them consistently at the top of English football while developing a string of young talent including Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard and Leandro Trossard. In the 2025-26 season he led Arsenal to their first Premier League title in 22 years and reached the Champions League final for the first time since 2006, losing to PSG on penalties in Budapest. Kai Havertz scored in the sixth minute but Gabriel missed the decisive penalty in the shootout. Despite the heartbreak it was the greatest season in Arsenal's history for two decades.

Philosophy

Arteta is obsessed with identity. He wants his teams to play with courage and conviction — to attack with pace and purpose and to press without the ball as a unit. He draws heavily on his years working under Guardiola, but has developed his own voice as a coach — one that emphasises emotional resilience, collective responsibility and belief. He famously demands that his players 'compete every single second' of every match.

Personal Life

Arteta is married to Lorena Balsells and the couple have children together. He is known for his intense preparation and his ability to connect with players on a personal level. He and his family are based in London and he has spoken warmly about building a life in the city. He is regarded as one of the most articulate and emotionally intelligent communicators in football management.

Arteta is the youngest permanent manager in Arsenal's history, appointed at just 37 years old.

He won two FA Cups as a player with Arsenal before winning one as manager — three FA Cup medals in total.

Arteta played under Pep Guardiola at Barcelona's youth academy as a teenager.

He learned management under Guardiola at Man City for three years before getting his first head coach role.

Arteta wore the Arsenal captains armband for three years and is the only person to have both captained and managed the club in the modern era.