da fazobetai： Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has revealed how close he came to playing for England, Xabi Alonso as a manager, and his first meeting with Pep Guardiola.

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Arteta explains England situation in Box to BoxOffers his take on Alonso the managerLifts lid on first Guardiola meetingWHAT HAPPENED?

The 42-year-old played Box to Box, with GOAL and FedEx, and spoke about a myriad of topics, including his expectation that some of his players would go on to become managers and his view that the Premier League is the best division in the world. In the same interview, he spoke at length about how close he came to playing for England – after being overlooked by Spain – the rise of Bayer Leverkusen boss Alonso, and when he first met Guardiola as a teenager.

AdvertisementTHE BIG ENGLAND DECISION

When asked how close he was to representing England as a player, Arteta said: "Yeah, I was pretty close when [Fabio] Capello was the manager (2008-2012). I was very close but then I got injured and at the same time I was going to go to Spain, so I didn't do it, but I would've been very proud to be part of that."

(C)Getty ImagesXABI ALONSO THE MANAGER

On whether he thought Alonso would be a top manager after playing alongside him as a youngster, Arteta replied: "[Xabi Alonso] the manager? I don't know. But the player, he was there, for sure. We lived five minutes away from each other, we played against each other, we played in the same team in Antiguoko. His father was a coach. He's been educated by some of the top managers in the world, so I'm not surprised [by his success at Bayer Leverkusen]."

THAT FIRST MEETING WITH PEP

Finally, on meeting Guardiola, he added: "Pep was the more senior one in that position and I met him when I was 15. At 26-27 years old I did my ACL and I started to connect with Pep from that moment. I'm so grateful that I did.

"I think [the desire to be a manager] grew through my career. And when I moved from coaches, cultures, different countries, different leagues, I started to have different experiences, I started to understand the game. Then I did my ACL and I didn't know when I was going to get back. I started to think: 'Okay, what do I want to do if this doesn't go the right way?' And then I started to do my coaching badges, and then I loved it more there than probably playing on grass. The opportunity came to start coaching with Pep [at Manchester City] and I'm so grateful that I did."