Arteta announces retirement, joins Guardiola's staff at Manchester City
Mikel Arteta has put two longstanding rumours to rest in one fell swoop.
The 34-year-old confirmed Sunday that he is hanging up his boots, announcing both his retirement and his concurrent decision to join Pep Guardiola's coaching staff at Manchester City.
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
The Spaniard is retiring after a five-year stint with Arsenal, during which time he won two FA Cups.
Arteta began his career at Spanish giant Barcelona and had spells at Paris Saint-Germain, Rangers and Real Sociedad before moving to Everton in 2005, and Arsenal in 2011.
"Throughout my career I have always been interested in more than just the playing side and have had a passion for helping progress and develop the team outside of just my own role as a player," added Arteta, who has been troubled by injuries in recent seasons.
"Coaching has always been something I've been keen to go in to and over the past few years I've worked hard off the pitch as well as on it to develop my skills in order to put me in a position to be able to pursue a coaching role once I finished playing."
Guardiola's first match since taking over from Manuel Pellegrini as City manager will be against Manchester United in a pre-season tournament in China on July 25.