I must admit my scepticism when Mikel Arteta was touted for big Premier League jobs over the past few years.

It struck me as odd so many were championing him as a future coach of a club like Arsenal given his limited experience. Reading and hearing about this dynamic, inspirational character from Arsene Wenger’s dressing room made me wonder if that said more about the lack of personality at the Emirates during that era than Arteta’s qualities.

I do not say this to be disrespectful or unnecessarily negative, just to be honest about my perceptions of Arteta as a footballer.

I did not know Arteta other than as an opponent, but if you had told me during our battles in Merseyside derbies when Arteta was an Everton player that he be would be managing Arsenal at the age of 37 I would have thought you were joking. I just did not see it.

When we lined up against that Everton side, we never felt Arteta was their leader. You would see characters such as Phil Jagielka, Tim Cahill, Tim Howard and Phil Neville and imagine them to be far more vocal and influential on the training ground.

Arteta, in my mind, was a tidy, technically gifted creative midfielder at Goodison Park, getting the most from his ability and performing at the level he should be. When he moved to Arsenal, I thought it was more to do with him becoming available for a reasonable fee than a grand transfer gesture.