Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says he would have changed his international allegiance from Spain to England during his playing career.
42-year-old spent 11 years of his playing career in England across spells with Everton and Arsenal.
Arteta — who was never capped at international level — played in the same generation when Spain, the nation of his birth, had Xavi, Andreas Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, David Silva, Santi Cazorla, Xabi Alonso and Marcos Senna.
In 2010, when Spain won the World Cup, then-England manager Fabio Capello and the Football Association (FA) made an attempt to convert Arteta into an England international.
“I was thinking about that the other day,” Arteta said on Friday. “I was actually talking to Edu about that at lunch. I would have done it. I feel very proud about it.
“I was very realistic, looking at the players Spain had at the time, and how big a challenge I had. You need to know your level, that is very important. Look in the mirror. In the end, it didn’t happen. But it was good, at least to think about it.”
Arteta not making the switch to England was due to stricter rules around dual nationality players than the ones currently in place.
The former midfielder had been playing in England for five years but had been capped by Spain’s Under-21 team, a hurdle that is not in place now — as seen with Declan Rice, who has made over 50 England appearances despite playing for Ireland’s youth sides and senior team three times.
“It was OK. If you cannot do it, you cannot do it. I wasn’t prepared to fight against the world.” Arteta said.
Asked about his views on a foreign manager taking charge of England’s national team following Thomas Tuchel’s appointment as England head coach, he added: “I understand the opinions and the feelings. That’s the FA’s responsibility to say the first filter is only English managers or the filters are any manager from any country and we select the best for the moment that we’re in right now.
“I understand that it can feel sad for some people not to have an English manager. History tells you how important this could be as well.
“I think I would take a lot of pride as well that a lot managers and a lot of people would do anything to be the England manager. That’s related to how we’re treated in this country as foreigners. How much we love the passion, the respect, the history and the way that things are done in this country. I can say personally that you feel so related to where you are even if you are not from here. I think there are very few countries that could say that.”
“I look English, I’ve been here so long. I’ll tell you right now, the feeling I have, for me this is like home. I’ve been here for 22 years. I have that feeling towards it because I always feel respected, welcomed and inspired by this country and the history of football and how you get treated daily. I think that’s something you should be really proud of as a country.”
Arsenal have four players who have been capped by England (Bukayo Saka, Rice, Raheem Sterling and Ben White). Saka and Rice were in the latest squad this month, while Sterling and White have not made a squad since the 2022 World Cup.
Asked what Tuchel’s appointment could mean for his England internationals, Arteta added: “They (Arsenal’s England internationals) are going to learn a lot. He’s one of the best coaches in the world in my opinion, the way his teams are set up. It’s a very exciting time.
“I spoke to a few of the players and they had a smile on their faces straight away. That’s a good sign.”
(Tony Marshall/EMPICS via Getty Images)
