The next stop on Arsenal's road to Premier League glory sees them return home and welcome Everton to the Emirates Stadium. It will be the first time that Mikel Arteta will take on his former side in N5 while they have been under the management of his former head coach when he was a player for them, with David Moyes leading the Toffees' charge for a European place.Arteta spent six-and-a-half years as a player at Everton, more than the time he spent at any other club. Arsenal ranked second in this regard, seeing out the final half-decade of his career at the Emirates Stadium.As a product of Barcelona's famed La Masia academy system and hailing from Spain's Basque Country region which has produced incredible footballing minds such as Xabi Alonso, Andoni Iraola and Unai Emery, Arteta has been surrounded with tactical influences for his entire life. Yet it was his stay at Goodison Park under Moyes which seems to have impacted his vision for this version of Arsenal.The Everton team of the mid-2000s were the true representation of the Premier League's working class and middle pack. They were tough to play against, particularly at home; they made the absolute most of what they had on a budget; they were direct, tenacious and fearsome. In many ways, they provided the blueprint for this Arsenal team.Arteta is a unique character in that his life as a player feels almost completely detached to that as a manager. In his younger days, he was a bit of a journeyman among iconic clubs, starting at (but never playing for) Barcelona, spending time on loan at Paris Saint-Germain alongside Ronaldinho, Mauricio Pochettino and Jay-Jay Okocha among others, joining Rangers when Scottish football was still a force in Europe, and then returning home to Real Sociedad.But Arteta barely got a look-in at his boyhood club and so joined Everton on loan with an option to buy midway through the 2004-05 season in which the Toffees finished in the Premier League's top four."I am sad to be leaving Sociedad. I went there with all the hope in the world, but it is clear that the coach is not counting on me and I can't allow that situation to continue," Arteta said upon exiting San Sebastian. "I didn't play well at the start of the season, but since then I have not been given a chance. I don't feel good picking up money and not playing football, and I hope moving to Everton will give me this chance."La Real's loss was Everton's gain, however, and Arteta quickly became a hero at Goodison Park. In 2025, Moyes spoke fondly of Arteta's upbringing and how that had shaped his character."Mikel was clever in his football thinking [as a player]. He knew how he wanted to play as well," Moyes said. "He had a really good upbringing if you look at the clubs where he started, periods at PSG, periods at Barcelona, Real Sociedad. He had a real chance before he came and went to Glasgow Rangers and then came here [to Everton]."He'd actually been around and seen a lot of clubs, a lot of really good clubs, with good setups. He was a wee bit of a moaner at times, Mikel. And that sometimes is a good sign as well. He wanted things to be done right, wanted it to be done good, wanted the team to play better."But he was a good player for us. Great captain, great player. Great signing, really, at that time."There was clearly something about Moyes and Arteta's relationship that spoke deeply to the pair on an emotional level. That much is evident in almost every interview in which they've spoken about the other."I think he made me a better person, made me mature in the earlier stages of my career," Arteta said of Moyes in 2021. "He was really demanding and challenging, but at the same time really, really supportive. I really liked how he managed the group as well as the individuals. He really installed a real belief around the club to be together all the time, to look after each other, and nobody was more important than the team. He really created a special atmosphere when we were together."I suffered when he had a difficult time because I didn’t think it was very fair on him that he was given no time in some places. I know about his qualities and I’m glad to see that now he is enjoying it and doing what he is really good at. I can see his team being what he is and what he likes to do."Only a few months ago, Arteta was asked how he would describe his feelings towards Moyes. "I think that's the word I’d use, gratitude and admiration," he answered. "I think he taught me the love that he's got for the game and then the integrity that the game requires at any cost. I think he's a remarkable man, I think the way he manages the club, the people, his players, he's outstanding and I'm very grateful for everything that he did for me, for Everton as well."But I think in general for English football as well, because he's been an example of how to behave in good moments and in difficult ones. It doesn’t matter when you see how people are, and I think David’s done that, it’s something extraordinary."In 2023, Arteta revealed that Moyes was among his favourite people in football because even despite this 'love' they had for each other, the Scot is the one who pushed him out of his comfort zone, tasking him with learning about new parts of the game."It's more than respect, I think it's admiration. I loved playing under him. I would have gone through a brick wall for him when he was my manager, as everybody would in that squad," Arteta said."[He's] a really good coach, exceptional at managing the group and dealing with individuals, and he's a very special person, very trustworthy, and a man who honours his word. He always did it and he's someone I learnt a lot from."He asked me to play in positions that I've never played in my life. The way he challenged me, but at the same time the way he gave me support, love and care - it was the right balance and it's what I needed, and he got the best out of me. So, he was really, really helpful."Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reportingMoyes and Arteta's worlds collided again in 2014 when the former was offered the chance to manage Real Sociedad, months on from his high-profile sacking at Manchester United. As it turns out, Arteta advised his ex-manager to take the job."I gave him my opinion about La Real," Arteta admitted to the Spanish press. "He's a coach that likes to tighten the reigns, he'll do well with the group. He demands a lot and works hard, he's not what you'd call a 'typical' English manager that sits on the bench."He analyses a lot and he has a clear idea of how he wants his team to play. There are things that could have an adverse effect, but when he made the decision to come to Real Sociedad over the other offers he had, it's because he sees their potential moving forward."If he's not able to get the team moving forward from the start, it's going to hurt him. I wish him the best, he's a coach that can light a fire under a player and the player will fight to the death for him. He's a coach that deserves it."Moyes lasted 364 days at Sociedad, one shy of a full calendar year. Ultimately, those 'things that could have an adverse effect' proved to be the language barrier and an inability to reverse poor runs of form.Arteta was first earmarked as a potential Arsenal manager in 2018 upon Arsene Wenger's exit. He had played for five years under the Frenchman, captaining the Gunners and establishing himself as a favourite among fans and in the dressing room. After retiring in 2016, Arteta had decided to join Guardiola's staff after the Catalan tactician joined Manchester City. As assistant coach, he was largely credited with the development of City's electric winger duo of Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane, with both players taking home the PFA Young Player of the Year award within three years of working under Arteta.However, at the eleventh hour, the Arsenal hierarchy decided against the gamble on an unproven coach in Arteta to bring in the experienced Emery instead. When the ex-PSG boss lasted little over a season, the Gunners decided the time was right for revolution and went back to their former midfielder.During Arteta's first few years as Arsenal manager, there were clearly signs of Wenger and Guardiola's influence on his philosophy. The Gunners played with their typical on-ball swagger, one and two-touch football to progress play. When Arsenal roared into title contention in 2022-23, they were the most entertaining team in the land."He's there. He's constantly living with me in the present," Arteta said of Wenger this season. "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him, what he lived and what he installed in me that allowed me to live in this football club."Arsene as a person has such an aura and a personality that he lives with you. He's constantly here. When I have to reflect and think about certain things, I always go back to that period: what is the way that he would do it? What are the things he would analyse and then make that decision?"And then also what Pep taught me. And what my father taught me, and my mother as well. And we are all made from these experiences and these references in life. The same with my wife. I would like to be in your seat as well, I would like to treat you and make you feel like if we changed chairs, it would be in the same way."When I'm thinking about a player, I would think: let me sit in his chair, see what he thinks. And probably you'd have a better idea of the situation."Arteta has long claimed that his four main coaching influences are Guardiola, Wenger, Mauricio Pochettino and Moyes. So why is it the latter that has seemingly inspired the Arsenal of 2025-26?The answer lies in the stories of the season. The Premier League is more physical than ever, more dead-ball dependant than ever. When Arteta hired Nicolas Jover as set-piece coach in 2021 - from Guardiola's City, where they first knew each other - it was genuinely with a view to improving around the margins. In search of perfection by means of control, Arteta's Arsenal have turned set-pieces into one of their primary outlets, if not the top one alone.Bar City, who still try to play evangelically but at the expense of defensive solidity, pretty much the entire Premier League of today is playing scaled-up football of 15-20 years ago. Arsenal, like Moyes' first iteration of Everton, are full of tall players who are excellent at duels. The main difference is Arteta has assembled an expensive but ultimately elite squad, not a mid-table one. And it's working.Arsenal have lost only three matches in all competitions this season. All of those losses were by only one goal. They don't blow the opposition away as much, but they tend to have such a tight grip on games that this doesn't tend to matter. The proof is in the pudding with dreams of the quadruple still very much alive.Master Moyes has stopped his apprentice in his tracks before. His West Ham side came from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Arsenal during their collapse of 2022-23. Arteta will be hoping he has perfected his team in his former manager's image enough to beat his modern-day Everton on Saturday as they chase down the Premier League title again.