Gabriel Heinz: Big brother helps Mikel Arteta get past Arsenal

After finishing second in the Premier League three times in a row, Mikel Arteta is left searching for answers.

What will it take to turn Arsenal into champions? The team needs more depth. The mentality should have been tougher.

The club responded by signing eight new players. However, perhaps the most significant summer arrival was the least obvious. Arteta turned to one of his oldest and most trusted allies: former Argentina, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Manchester United defender Gabriel Heinz, who replaced outgoing assistant Carlos Cuesta.

Arteta and Heinze first met at Paris Saint-Germain in 2001 under the management of Luis Fernandes.

“They were great lads,” says Fernandes, who signed Arteta from Barcelona in January 2001 and Haynes from Real Valladolid six months later.

“It’s been a pleasure managing them. The great thing is that they haven’t changed. They are exactly the same today; loyal, hardworking people. When I see what they do at Arsenal, I feel very proud.”

It is very significant that at this crucial moment in Arteta’s managerial career, he turned into a figure who was playing the role of big brother to him at Paris Saint-Germain.

Arteta was just 18 years old when he left his home country. He recently described his 18 months in Paris as “an experience that will stay with me forever, that shaped what I wanted to be as a player and ignited something in me to become a coach.”

The Paris Saint-Germain squad was full of star names and strong personalities. In addition to Haynes, Arteta shared the dressing room with Ronaldinho, Mauricio Pochettino, JJ Okocha and Nicholas Anelka.

The first months were difficult for the shy and introverted Spaniard, despite the presence and support of his parents.

“It was very difficult,” recalls Yves Ripardiere, PSG’s player liaison officer at the time. “Mikel lived in a very simple hotel. It was winter, it was cold and grey. He was in this little room and had a lot of time to entertain himself. I used to stay with him to make sure he wouldn’t get too down.”

PSG’s Spanish speakers also helped ease the transition. Pochettino, 28, took Arteta under his wing before Heinz arrived. “Mauricio was like a father figure,” recalls former Paris Saint-Germain defender Didier Domi. “Gabe was closer to Mikel’s age and more like a brother.”

Hines is four years older than Arteta, but there was instant chemistry between them. “They were together in training, and they also spent time together away from the field with their families,” Fernandes recalls.

“Gabe was a fierce competitor and always wanted to do better than his opponent. Mikel was an elegant player with real technical qualities,” adds the Paris Saint-Germain legend, who led the club to their first league title in 1986 and won the European Cup Winners’ Cup as coach a decade later.

Edward Cissé insists the duo also have a lot in common. “They were strong and emotional,” explains Cisse, who partnered Arteta in Paris Saint-Germain’s midfield. “Gabi gave everything, even in training. He had to win. Mikel was calmer. But you know you can’t push him the wrong way. He had that strong Basque quality.”