A player of imposing physical presence with great aerial ability,[1] he spent 11 years of his professional career with Atlético Madrid, appearing in 421 competitive games for the club.
[2] Born in Maliaño, Cantabria, Arteche began playing professionally with local Racing de Santander after starting in basketball and tennis.
[3] He made his debut in the 1976–77 season and appeared in 16 La Liga games as the club finished 15th, barely avoiding relegation.
[5] After only two matches in 1988–89, mainly due to serious personal problems with elusive Atlético chairman Jesús Gil,[6] Arteche chose to retire at 32.
[4] Arteche won four caps for Spain in three months, his debut coming against Romania on 12 November 1986 for the UEFA Euro 1988 qualifiers.