Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta says it is “a big moment” for him and his family after being honoured at the Spanish Embassy in London on Wednesday night.
The 42-year-old received the Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic, which is a Spanish civil order of honour granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to Spain or the promotion of international relations and cooperation with other nations.
Speaking to BBC Sport at the ceremony, Arteta said: “It’s a huge honour as you can imagine.
“When I was told about it I couldn’t really understand it. It makes my family really proud, it’s a big moment for all of us and it’s such a recognition and hopefully I can continue to represent our country in a beautiful way.
“It’s a huge recognition. It’s a big day for all of us. I have all my family here with me, [it is] a proud day. It’s been 24 years away from my country and now everything makes sense.”
Asked whether it was a good omen before their game on Sunday in which they are trying to win their first Premier League title in 20 years, the Spaniard said: “Maybe it’s the signal we needed.
“Especially after what happened last night [with Manchester City beating Tottenham], but we have a beautiful day ahead of us on Sunday and hopefully the magic can happen.
“That’s it. We have to do our deal. We know what we need in order to be champions so let’s do that.”
