Aurtenetxe made his La Liga debut on 28 August 2010, starting and being booked in a 1–0 win at Hércules CF. His season was curtailed by a serious shoulder injury, and he was definitely promoted to the main squad for 2011–12 under new manager Marcelo Bielsa; he played 54 official matches during the campaign and scored four goals, to help the Basques reach both the Copa del Rey and the Europa League finals – he netted an important one in the club's 2–1 away loss against Sporting CP in the latter competition's semi-finals (4–3 aggregate win).