Age can do strange things to footballers. Some struggle to adapt to the passage of time, others learn to fight against the dying of the light and savour every moment in the twilight of their career.

Mikel Arteta is somewhere in between. Since joining Arsenal from Everton in the summer of 2011, the Spaniard has curbed the more expressive, attacking instincts in his game to become the Gunners’ midfield anchor.

Arsene Wenger rewarded his reliability with a promotion to vice-captain in his second season at the club but despite making the step up to Champions League football after six-and-a-half productive years at Everton, he still finds it difficult to take pleasure from his life’s work.

Arteta turned 32 last month and is a player prone to introspection. So, if it all ended now, how would he look back on 15 years as a professional?

“That I achieved what I wanted to achieve but with one particular regret — that I haven’t enjoyed it as much as I should have done,” he said. “And that’s because I always put too much pressure on myself, trying to improve things that are not going well, not just in my own game but other things around the players or the club.

“I always think that, in five or 10 years’ time, I’ll look back and say, ‘Mikel, do you realise you played for Arsenal, you played nice football, you had good coaches, good team-mates, a good life in London?’ Maybe I should just enjoy it more but it’s part of my make-up and it’s what keeps me going.

“When you win, you think about the next game straight away. When you lose, it takes 48 to 72 hours to digest why it happened and then you begin thinking about the next game, which is usually just a couple more days away.

Ten young stars on Premier League radars this summer 10 show all Ten young stars on Premier League radars this summer 1/10 Luke Shaw, 18 - Southampton Shaw made his England debut against Denmark back in March, the highlight of a season which has seen the 18-year-old become one of the Premier League’s most wanted. Chelsea initially emerged as favourites for his signature this summer, but Manchester United are prepared to pay £30m for the emerging star. 2/10 Alberto Moreno, 21 - Sevilla A young talent with several admirers. Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Real Madrid – are all considered to be in the running to sign the Spain left-back. The Sevilla president revealed an offer from a Premier League club was rejected during the last window. 3/10 Will Hughes, 19 - Derby County Few players outside of the Premier League have attracted as much attention as Derby’s Will Hughes. The 19-year-old midfielder, who was recently named the Football League’s young player of the year, has been urged by some to stay at Pride Park to maximise his chances of first team football, but if England’s top clubs come knocking this summer – as they may well do – it could be hard for Hughes to resist. 4/10 Ryan Gauld, 18 - Dundee United Affectionately known as ‘mini Messi’ by fans and team-mates alike, the 5ft5 playmaker is one of the brightest talents to emerge out of Scotland for some time. He has reportedly caught the eye of Manchester United and Real Madrid, among others, but his contract at the SPL side until 2017 could add a sizeable amount to his transfer fee. 5/10 Antoine Griezmann, 23 - Real Sociedad Rumours were circulating last month that the Real Sociedad winger had agreed a move to big-spenders PSG for this summer – it was swiftly refuted by the player in question. Griezmann’s denial has led to renewed interest from Manchester United and Arsenal following the France winger’s 16 goals this season. 6/10 William Carvalho, 22 - Sporting Lisbon The defensive midfielder has been hugely impressive for Sporting Lisbon this season, reportedly making him the subject of multiple visits from Manchester United and Arsenal scouts. Carvalho could be exactly what David Moyes is looking for as he tries to strengthen his team’s core for next season, but it remains to be seen if United are willing to activate the Portugal international’s £37.5m release clause. 7/10 Romelu Lukaku, 20 - Chelsea (on-loan at Everton) With 31 goals in his last two seasons, on-loan Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku could be just what is needed for Jose Mourinho, who has lamented his attacking options in recent times. But the Blues boss remains ambiguous over the Belgian’s future, leading to interest from elsewhere, most prominently Tottenham. Lukaku’s current club Everton should not be disregarded either and will go a long way towards signing him should they qualify for next season’s Champions League. 8/10 Eliaquim Mangala, 23 - Porto Mangala was widely tipped to join Manchester City alongside Porto team-mate Fernando in January, but the deal fell through after City refused to match the Portuguese club’s valuation. Manuel Pellegrini has remained in the hunt for Mangala, however, along with a number of Europe’s other top clubs. Porto are unlikely to budge on the fee, with centre back expected to garner well over £20million. 9/10 Julian Draxler, 20 - Schalke The speculation over the young German’s future has been rumbling on for a while now. Arsenal came close to signing him in January, only for a deal to fall through. Bayern Munich were reportedly behind this, promising Draxler a move to the Allianz in the summer instead, although the German champions have since denied any interest. Whether the winger will leave Schalke, let alone which club he could move to, is anyone’s guess. 10/10 Paul Pogba, 21 - Juventus After leaving Manchester United on a free in the summer of 2012, Pogba was snapped up by Juventus and has since gone on to become one of the most impressive young talents in European football. Paris Saint-Germain are his greatest admirers, with David Moyes also reportedly showing interest in bringing him back to Old Trafford. Juve are determined to keep Pogba in Turin, however. 1/10 Luke Shaw, 18 - Southampton Shaw made his England debut against Denmark back in March, the highlight of a season which has seen the 18-year-old become one of the Premier League’s most wanted. Chelsea initially emerged as favourites for his signature this summer, but Manchester United are prepared to pay £30m for the emerging star. 2/10 Alberto Moreno, 21 - Sevilla A young talent with several admirers. Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Real Madrid – are all considered to be in the running to sign the Spain left-back. The Sevilla president revealed an offer from a Premier League club was rejected during the last window. 3/10 Will Hughes, 19 - Derby County Few players outside of the Premier League have attracted as much attention as Derby’s Will Hughes. The 19-year-old midfielder, who was recently named the Football League’s young player of the year, has been urged by some to stay at Pride Park to maximise his chances of first team football, but if England’s top clubs come knocking this summer – as they may well do – it could be hard for Hughes to resist. 4/10 Ryan Gauld, 18 - Dundee United Affectionately known as ‘mini Messi’ by fans and team-mates alike, the 5ft5 playmaker is one of the brightest talents to emerge out of Scotland for some time. He has reportedly caught the eye of Manchester United and Real Madrid, among others, but his contract at the SPL side until 2017 could add a sizeable amount to his transfer fee. 5/10 Antoine Griezmann, 23 - Real Sociedad Rumours were circulating last month that the Real Sociedad winger had agreed a move to big-spenders PSG for this summer – it was swiftly refuted by the player in question. Griezmann’s denial has led to renewed interest from Manchester United and Arsenal following the France winger’s 16 goals this season. 6/10 William Carvalho, 22 - Sporting Lisbon The defensive midfielder has been hugely impressive for Sporting Lisbon this season, reportedly making him the subject of multiple visits from Manchester United and Arsenal scouts. Carvalho could be exactly what David Moyes is looking for as he tries to strengthen his team’s core for next season, but it remains to be seen if United are willing to activate the Portugal international’s £37.5m release clause. 7/10 Romelu Lukaku, 20 - Chelsea (on-loan at Everton) With 31 goals in his last two seasons, on-loan Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku could be just what is needed for Jose Mourinho, who has lamented his attacking options in recent times. But the Blues boss remains ambiguous over the Belgian’s future, leading to interest from elsewhere, most prominently Tottenham. Lukaku’s current club Everton should not be disregarded either and will go a long way towards signing him should they qualify for next season’s Champions League. 8/10 Eliaquim Mangala, 23 - Porto Mangala was widely tipped to join Manchester City alongside Porto team-mate Fernando in January, but the deal fell through after City refused to match the Portuguese club’s valuation. Manuel Pellegrini has remained in the hunt for Mangala, however, along with a number of Europe’s other top clubs. Porto are unlikely to budge on the fee, with centre back expected to garner well over £20million. 9/10 Julian Draxler, 20 - Schalke The speculation over the young German’s future has been rumbling on for a while now. Arsenal came close to signing him in January, only for a deal to fall through. Bayern Munich were reportedly behind this, promising Draxler a move to the Allianz in the summer instead, although the German champions have since denied any interest. Whether the winger will leave Schalke, let alone which club he could move to, is anyone’s guess. 10/10 Paul Pogba, 21 - Juventus After leaving Manchester United on a free in the summer of 2012, Pogba was snapped up by Juventus and has since gone on to become one of the most impressive young talents in European football. Paris Saint-Germain are his greatest admirers, with David Moyes also reportedly showing interest in bringing him back to Old Trafford. Juve are determined to keep Pogba in Turin, however.

“So I find it difficult to say ‘I love it’ because I’m constantly putting myself under pressure, there’s always a next target or a ‘we won but we didn’t do a certain thing well’ nagging away at you. And it’s always like that. But I do know how privileged I am to be in this position. Sometimes I take my kids onto the Emirates Stadium pitch after a game and remember that this would have all seemed like a dream when I was as young as them.”

Arsenal’s season has taken a turbulent turn in 2014 with a Premier League title challenge now reduced to a familiar scramble to finish in the top four but with the considerable addition of a clear chance to end the club’s nine-year trophy drought in next month’s FA Cup Final against Hull.

Questions have been asked both of the squad and Wenger during a difficult few weeks and Arteta admits his advancing years provide no immunity from self-doubt.

“The fight to switch off gets harder and harder,” he said. “I just can’t do it — I have long discussions with my wife every time we have a bad result and I constantly think about what we can improve, what we did wrong, what happened in the game. I turn it over in my mind a thousand times. That’s because it’s the biggest part of my life. I don’t know how to turn it off. Fortunately, my wife only needs to look at me and she knows what I’m thinking!”



Mikel Arteta was speaking exclusively in the Official Arsenal Magazine, available from newsagents, arsenal.com/magazine or by calling 0845 3017626