Mikel Arteta handed Rangers reminder as Arsenal boss suffers painful PSG flashback from old Ibrox pal
The Gunners crashed out of the last four of UEFA's premier competition
Mikel Arteta was feeling the pain in Paris after Arsenal's Champions League exit when an old Rangers pal offered a reminder of another night of misery for the Spaniard in the French capital.
The Gunners gaffer was just a fresh-faced teenager when he was on the home side, while on loan from Barcelona, in the Parc des Princes and they went out of the UEFA Cup to Dick Advocaat's Light Blues.
It was a dramatic night with Rangers going through on penalties after two goalless draws with Arteta featuring in both games.
And after Arsenal's 2-1 defeat to Luis Enrique's side in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final qualifier which saw them lose 3-1 on aggregate, former Rangers star Maurice Ross mentioned the game with the quip: 'Winning away to PSG isn't for everyone.'
Ross also featured in both games and later became a friend and team-mate of Arteta's during the Spaniard's short time at Ibrox.
It was during those European games that he caught the eye of Advocaat and Gers spies.
Advocaat requested a report from chief scout Ewan Chester who watched the French giants away from home and returned with this message: 'Young Arteta is their most influential player."
And while the Dutchman was departing Glasgow to make way for Alex McLeish, the club pushed the boat out to sign him four months later in a £6million deal from Barcelona.
Arteta helped Rangers to a treble in his first full season in Scotland, scoring a penalty in a 6-1 Ibrox rout of Dunfermline Athletic on the final day of the 2002/03 campaign when McLeish's Rangers pipped Celtic to the title on goal difference.
The second season didn't go to plan as the Light Blues ended the campaign trophyless and Arteta wasn't helped by the sale of current caretaker boss and his midfielder partner and captain Barry Ferguson to Blackburn Rovers at the start the season.
He returned to Spain where he joined Real Sociedad, his hometown team, before coming back to Britain with spells with Everton and Arsenal where he became one of the finest midfielders in the league.
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