ANDONI Iraola says it will be “really nice” to come up against his childhood friend Mikel Arteta for the first time tomorrow, admitting: “We’ve had very different routes.”

The pair were born within three months of each other in the small Basque region of Spain in 1982.

They played together as children in the same football team of Antiguoko, before Arteta left to join Barcelona as a 15-year-old.

Arteta and Iraola have taken very different paths in football, but it has all led to a first competitive meeting between the two when Arsenal visit Cherries in the Premier League.

“We’ve known each other since we were kids, eight, nine, 10 years old, we played a lot together,” Iraola explained.

“It is true that our careers as football players and as coaches have gone in completely different routes.

“He has been almost all his career here in England. I have been almost all my career in La Liga.

“So it is really the first time we are going to face each other in many years.”

Arteta played for the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Rangers, Everton and Arsenal, before becoming manager of the Gunners in 2019.

Apart from a brief spell to end his career at New York City, Iraola spent his entire playing spell with Athletic Bilbao, featuring more than 500 times.

He has managed at AEK Larnaca, Mirandes and Rayo Vallecano, before joining Cherries in June.

“We’ve had very different routes,” admitted Iraola.

“As a player and a coach I have done everything in La Liga, in Spain. He has done everything in the Premier League.

“So different routes, but now is the first time we are going to face each other. It is really nice for me.

“When you are a player, I wouldn’t even think that I would become one day a coach, in La Liga or the Premier League. But you never know how life is going to go.

“Now I have a big chance. In his case for sure if you ask him, it would be the same.

“I think when you start, when you are a kid, I don’t think anyone has the passion to become a manager.

“Everyone is thinking I am going to become a football player, because this is what we like to do and play. After, everyone in life takes their route and here we are.”

Asked if he spoke with Iraola when he took the Cherries job, Arteta said: "Yes, I did.

"He was really excited to come and and was really complimentary about the club.

"The support that he was getting, the players, his staff.

"He was so happy to be part of the league."

Discussing the friendship of the pair ahead of Saturday, Arteta added: "I think it’s very easy (to put it aside).

"You are in winning mode, compete, get the best out of your team and get into battle.

"Before and after is a different story, especially after, but during, there is nothing there."

Asked if he will invite Arteta into his office for a chat and a drink after tomorrow's game, Iraola said: "After a game it is always difficult, because normally after the game, the manager that has lost the game is not in the best mood.

"But for sure we will speak after the game."