Mikel Arteta has given a heart felt interview about his time out with injury and explained just how frustrating it is not to be able to play for your team.
After suffering with calf problems for most of the 2014/15 season, Arteta only played in 13 matches compared to 43 the year before. The 33-year-old has now gone from being one of the first names on the teamsheet, to sitting on the bench after Francis Coquelin took to his new role with ease.
“I really missed it [when I was out],” the Spaniard said. “I had a really tough period last year after my last game in November and I went through some really difficult moments with my surgery.”
Arteta continued, “For me it is the frustration [that is the hardest thing] because there is always pain and you are trying to get back everyday and you spend a lot of time doing rehabilitation.
“When the players go outside for a training session, you feel wasted. They come back, they travel, they have different times to you and you don’t spend much time with them. Personally I don’t feel productive.
The midfielder added, “I’m here because I want to play games, make this team more successful and be a part of it. When I’m not able to do that I still have to contribute, be positive, be good around the other players, give advice and try to help my team-mates. But it is not the same.
“But I worked really hard and tried to stay positive, do my best and here I am again now, earning my place in the squad and ready to help the team.”
The fantastic thing about Arteta is he’s so reliable and consistent that I instantly feel safer when he’s on the pitch no matter how long he’s been out. Whenever a match gets a bit too intense, putting Arteta on just calms everything down and allows us to play our game, rather than dash around sliding at people like headless chickens.
The midfielder revealed he’s been keeping a close eye on the game from the bench, saying, “I just watch the game and things come to my head naturally – things that I believe we can do better or things we are having trouble with, weaknesses of the other team or if we are having a few problems.
“You are excited but nervous as you don’t know when you are going to get thrown in. When you get thrown in you want to be ready for it with a good warm-up and ready to make an impact to help the team achieve the win.”
Arteta will get a chance to start again soon, I don’t think we’ve seen the last of him by any means.