Arteta reflects on his time at Paris Saint-Germain

The ex-Everton and Arsenal midfielder enjoyed a fruitful period in France during the earlier part of his career.

Ahead of facing PSG in the Champions League, he stated: “It was my first professional experience. I had an unbelievable time there. I will always be grateful to Luis Fernandez because he was the one who believed in me when I was 17 or 18-years-old and gave me the platform in professional football.

“From there in a club of that size and city that is probably the most beautiful one in Europe, it's a an experience that will stay with me forever, with teammates that shaped who I want to be as a player and I think igniting in me something to become a manager. I think there were some very important individuals in that part of my career.”

On playing with top players at PSG, he added: “Unbelievable. We had Ronaldinho, Okocha, Anelka, Pochettino, Heinze. They were all unbelievable. 

“I wanted to stay there, but at that moment I was owned by Barcelona and they couldn't find an agreement. Then I had to do something else. But I was so happy there and this is football.”