Mikel Arteta wouldn’t be drawn on whether his players need to tone down their behaviour after Arsenal received a quick-fire brace of charges from the FA for disorderly conduct.
In both the 0-0 draw with Newcastle United and Monday night’s FA Cup win over Oxford United, Arsenal players surrounded the officials claiming for penalties for handball.
VAR dismissed the claim at the Emirates Stadium on 3 January and the technology wasn’t available at the Kassam Stadium as it’s a League One ground.
While it’s never a great look trying to pressure a referee into making a decision, it’s widely accepted that Arsenal didn’t do anything out of the ordinary in either case.
“I prefer not to comment on that,” said Arteta when asked if his players may need to err on the side of caution when they head to Sp*rs for the North London derby.
He then added: “Anything that we can do to improve [we’ll do]. We’ll always have conversations with our players and staff and as a club as well to see what we can do better and if we need to change behaviour.”
Pressed on whether he was surprised the club had been charged for the incident at Oxford, he again said: “I’d prefer not to comment on that aspect really.”
So far this season in the league, the Gunners have received 30 yellow cards and zero red cards. From a self-discipline perspective, it’s much improved following a couple of seasons where unnecessary red cards have ended up being costly to the club.
One example came at Sp*rs in May. Arsenal travelled up the Seven Sisters Road knowing a win would secure Champions League football but were reduced to 10 men in the first half when Rob Holding was twice booked. The home took advantage to secure a 3-0 win that ultimately helped them finish above us in the league.
It felt like the occasion, played in front of a hostile crowd, got the better of Arsenal. So are the Gunners better equipped to deal with the situation this time around?
“We prepare every game in a different way and we’ve talked about things that, in our opinion, are relevant for the way the game can develop. They are things that we discuss every week,” said Arteta.
Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah have both spoken this week about avenging that defeat at White Hart Lane. The boss maintains that his players just need to focus on what they are trained to do.
“We don’t think about sending messages, we think about performances and playing well and earning the right to win the game,” he said.
“That’s what we have to do and the best way to do it is to focus on that. The rest we cannot control. I don’t know the perception of the rest [of the clubs] on us, the way they analyse. We have to focus on what we can do.”
Why are we getting done for talking to the referee when most other clubs do without punishment?
Because we’re The Arsenal.
And those that deliberately hinder us or want us to fail are sad jealous cretins.
I really do wish sometimes he’d be a bit more open and tell it as it is. Farcical decisions on both sides, I like that he doesn’t use referees or blame them as an excuse for a poor result (eg Away at ManUre or against the magpies bastards) but in these situations I really do wish he’d come straight out & say how ridiculous these decisions are or at the very least say things that can be read between the lines – much to the way Fergie did to gain an unconscious advantage & plant seeds in the referees minds… Read more »
And give the FA exactly what they want and face a charge himself for bringing the game into disrepute? Fuck that shit.
No, Arteta has done exactly the right thing and given those who would stir the shit and have more unwarranted punishment thrown at us exactly what they deserved – “no comment.”
Well done Mikel. 👏
Let our lads do the talking on the pitch……
COYG
I think not commenting at all says loads more than any snippets could. Leaves room for infinite variability of interpretation while preserving maximim deniability.
We close ranks, we pull up the drawbridge; we give NOTHING to the media.
Fuck the lot of them.
Commenting on refereeing to the media has never worked in Arsenal’s favor.
Sky presenters bigging up the Spuds already.
Cunts.
Mikel Arteta! You have a way to suppress what would be questions that draws you to say something negative about your lads. And you doing this calmly. Thank you boss.
Just read the news that Zinchenko recieved a letter from the FA in August regarding his passionate celebrations after beating Fulham. Shocked but not shocked.
No doubt praising him for the joy he expressed and urging him to keep it up. No, I didn’t think so either.
They’re holding their own and good on them
They ve taken some stick and still they elegantly say nothing
Because they’re decent lads
And ARTETA is gentleman , bit pots for rags at times 😂 but never the less a Gent 👍