Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has responded to claims he was “disrespectful” on the touchline against Newcastle on Tuesday.
The Gunners boss was seen berating the officials on the sideline over what he deemed to be two “scandalous” decisions that went against his team
And Alan Shearer reckons he needs to “calm down” and stop “direspecting the opposition”.
Speaking to Premier League Productions, Shearer said: “I think Mikel Arteta needs to have a word with himself, or his assistant needs to have a word with him and calm him down. I think he’s disrespectful to the opposition and he’s making it very difficult for the referees who have a hard enough job as it is.
“I get he wants to be animated but if his players behaved like him, he wouldn’t like it and it would cost him. He needs to calm down. I get they’re top of the league and it’s a big game, but he’s making it very, very difficult for referees and he’s disrespecting the opposition.”
Former Premier League referee Keith Hackett was also far from impressed by Arteta’s actions, claiming they were “totally unacceptable”, while Richard Keys was of a similar view as he labelled the Spaniard an “embarrassment”.
Responding to the criticism, Arteta said: “It’s a football match. It’s very competitive, the way we play, the way they play. We are close on the table and it’s like this. That’s the beauty of this league.”
Gunners legend Ian Wright defended Arteta’s antics: “He’s [Arteta] so plugged into the game, that’s the way he is.
“You see some managers like that, like Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte, Pep Guardiola. People are talking about it a lot now so I’m sure it’s something he will look at. But he’s my manager so I’m not going to find too much fault in it!”
The draw against Newcastle leaves Arsenal eight points clear at the top of the Premier League, but they could see that advantage reduced to five points with Manchester City set to take on Chelsea on Thursday.
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