Arsenal's Mikel Arteta says his experiences of playing in the Scottish Premier League with Rangers helped prepare him for England's top league.
The 29-year old Spaniard made over 50 appearances for 'Gers in between 2002 and 2004 before moving back home to join Real Sociedad which eventually got him to Everton after a loan deal at Goodison Park in 2005.
Arteta, who kicked off his career with Barcelona where he took in a loan with Paris Saint-Germain, then signed with Arsenal last summer and has revealed that his time at Ibrox helped get him ready for the rough and tumble of the Premier League.
"I was really impressed with the stadium and everything that went with it.
"In February that year they came over and said they wanted to sign me. At the time I was only on loan in Paris and Barcelona wouldn't sell me to another Spanish club.
"It wasn't easy to find another club like that because they were asking for quite a lot of money for me for my age. So I took the chance to go there.
"At that moment, Rangers were a big club, with big players, playing in the Champions League.
"But Scottish football was tough, really tough. It was really physical, people got at you and I had to improve on that a lot. I think I did that to get to the level that the Premier League required of me.""In my second year at Paris Saint-Germain we played Rangers in the Champions League at Ibrox," Arteta told Arsenal's official website.
