Mikel Arteta set to face off with childhood friend in Premier League cracker

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.

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 ‘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."

Arteta and Xabi Alonso ended up moving 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.