Arsenal vs Paris St-Germain: How Gunners boss Mikel Arteta learned from Pochettino at a French club

One of the first players to take Arteta under his wing was Pochettino, who the Spaniard has since referred to as his “big brother” and “football father”.

The Argentine, ten years his senior, also arrived in January 2001 after leaving La Liga club Espanyol and developed a close bond with his new teammate as they shared a hotel for the first three months of their stay in Paris.

Arteta’s leadership qualities were evident from the start, according to Pochettino.

“He was already a coach,” he said in 2023 about his former PSG colleague. “He gave me and the others advice.” (I would) say, “Wow!” – the character, the personality, the charisma. He already had the football brain.”

Arteta was tasked by manager Luis Fernandez – who had already tried to sign the teenager when he was in charge of Athletic Bilbao – to orchestrate the game from a deep midfield position, a role he filled with a confidence and maturity that which contradicted his age.

“Fernandez asked him to just play and help create a platform for more creative talent like Okocha and he did it brilliantly,” French football expert Matt Spiro told BBC Sport.

“Arteta was a quiet man, but already showed the iron determination that we see in him today. Like most Barcelona players, he was technically excellent, but given his age, his tactical sense was the most surprising and impressive aspect of his game.”

Arteta played 11 games before the end of the season and scored his first PSG goal in a 2-2 draw against Lille on the penultimate weekend of the season. However, despite his good start, Fernandez’s side ended this season in an unfavorable manner.

After a 4-0 defeat to Auxerre in the fourth round of the French Cup – Arteta’s debut for the club – they finished last in the second round of the Champions League and narrowly made it out of the top spot on the final day of the season half to come.

But better times were just around the corner.