Mikel Arteta takes Manchester City coaching role after retiring as player

Mikel Arteta has announced his retirement from playing and will take up a coaching role under friend Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.

Arteta, 34, retired from playing at the end of last season after five years at Emirates Stadium.

He won two FA Cups with Arsenal, making 150 appearances and scoring 17 goals.

Speculation had been building around the 34-year-old’s future towards the end of the season, with reports linking him to a background role at City.

And the former Spain international has confirmed that his playing career has ended and he will be working with Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium next term.

“I can confirm that I will be leaving Arsenal and retiring from playing to take up a coaching position at Manchester City,” he said in a statement released on Twitter.

Arteta was a product of Barca’s famous La Masia academy but only ever played for the B and C sides before a loan move to Paris Saint-Germain in the 2001-02 season.

Hi all, here a statement from me on the next chapter in my football career… pic.twitter.com/2Xb9VifCog

— Mikel Arteta (@m8arteta) July 3, 2016

Arteta was a product of Barca’s famous La Masia academy but only ever played for the B and C sides before a loan move to Paris Saint-Germain in the 2001-02 season.

He joined Rangers in 2002 and impressed in a two-year spell before returning to Spain for an ill-fated season with Real Sociedad, which included a loan back to the UK with Everton that was made permanent in the summer of 2005.

After signing for just £2m, Arteta went on to play over 200 times, scoring 34 goals and captain the Toffees under David Moyes. The San Sebastian-born playmaker represented Spain at every youth level from U16 to U21 but failed to ever win a senior call-up.