Mikel Arteta says Man Utd had a midfielder he used to love when he was younger

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been discussing some of the greatest midfielders to play in the Premier League, while revealing which Manchester United ace he loved to watch in his earlier years.

Manchester United has been the home of most of the best players the Premier League has seen. From Ryan Giggs and Roy Keane to Cristiano Ronaldo and Eric Cantona, Sir Alex Ferguson built multiple teams with world-class players during a period of dominance.

That hasn’t been the case since Ferguson retired in 2013. Bruno Fernandes has been the best signing made in the post-Ferguson era, with nobody able to dispute his ability as a world-class midfielder.

Bryan Mbeumo will hope he can have the same impact, if not better, after scoring six goals since joining the Red Devils from Brentford in the summer.

Hopefully, one day, people can reflect on Ruben Amorim’s stars as being among the best to play in the Premier League, but the team must get back to winning titles for that to happen.

Mikel Arteta picks Paul Scholes over Steven Gerrard

Before retiring and turning to management, Mikel Arteta spent over 11 years as a player in the Premier League, as an influential central midfielder at Everton and Arsenal.

Arteta played a role in Arsenal ending their nine-year trophy drought, winning the FA Cup twice, but he is now their manager, trying to win the league title for the first time since 2004.

During his career, Arteta came up against some fantastic United teams, but he has been asked to name the best midfielder of the Premier League after being given four options to select from.

Arteta revealed during a challenge with Sky Sports that he rates former United midfielder Paul Scholes over Steven Gerrard, David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne.

“I’m going to pick someone I admired since I was little. It’s going to be Paul Scholes.

“His character his personality on the pitch was very different from the outside and his brain. He could see things nobody else could see and he was always ahead of the game.

“He could pass it, he could link short, he could arrive late, comfortable in tight spaces, could shoot from distance, could defend.”

“I always admired him. And I always liked him.”

So, with that, we have Arteta settle one of the biggest debates of the Premier League era. That Scholes is far superior than Gerrard.

Mikel Arteta record against Man Utd as a player

Arteta faced United 17 times during his playing career.

Losing the first two games in the Champions League during his time at Rangers, Arteta only managed two wins against United.

Interestingly, those two wins came during Arteta’s time at Everton.

Arteta was on the receiving end of three defeats and two draws against United as an Arsenal player.