Mikel Arteta Set to Face Off with Childhood Friend in Premier League Cracker

• Bournemouth welcome Arsenal to the Vitality Stadium in a Premier League game on Saturday
• One sub plot of the encounter is the managers of both teams grew up together in a small town in Spain
• Ahead of the game, Andoni Iraola hailed Arteta as a brilliant player in his heyday

Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola is relishing coming up against Mikel Arteta in the Premier League for a delightful reason.

The Gunners will be seeking their sixth win of the new season, and Arteta will come up against a familiar face in the dugout.

It just happens that Arteta and Iraola know each other quite well as they were childhood friends in the tiny Gipuzkoa area of northern Spain.

Other managers who hail from the area and also managed in the Premier League include Julen Lopetegui and Unai Emery, currently the manager at Aston Villa.

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As a child, Iraola coincidentally shared the pitch with Arteta and the likes of Xabi Alonso at the amateur club Antiguoko at the same time.

On growing up with Arteta as young, aspiring footballers, the Bournemouth boss described it as a ‘special’ BBC, adding:

"You are eight, nine, 10 years old and you are playing with your friends on the beach. We didn't have these hopes when we were playing. We were just kids playing football."

"It will be really nice to see Mikel again. He was an amazing player," said Iraola, who replaced Gary O'Neil at the Cherries in June. "He was the one above the rest. He was the one who left our club first and joined Barcelona.

Arteta and Xabi Alonso moved away from their small town to advance their careers, but Iraola chose to stay behind.

According to Transfermkt, the Bournemouth manager made an impressive 510 appearances for Athletic Bilbao, with one of his most notable contributions, especially among English fans, being his part in the Europa League victory over Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United in 2012.

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Why Arteta subbed off Declan Rice

Sports Brief also reported on why Mikel Arteta decided to take off Declan Rice in the North London derby.

Rice, who has enjoyed a bright start to life at the Emirates since his summer move, was part of the Gunners' starting XI as they hosted rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, September 24.

However, the England international could not last the entire 90 minutes of the tie, as he had to be subbed off in the first half.

According to the Gunners boss, he had to sub off the midfielder as he had discomfort occasioned by pain on his back.