Mikel Arteta details internal meeting over Newcastle comments that upset FA
Mikel Arteta has insisted he will never stop showing passion and wearing his heart on his sleeve.
Arteta faces a rematch with Newcastle three months on from a bitter clash at St James’s Park which ended with TV rants, referee rows and recriminations. Gunners boss Arteta was fuming after VAR allowed Anthony Gordon’s controversial winner to stand and let rip post-match which led to an FA hearing before he was cleared.
It has ensured that there will be plenty of spice between Arsenal and Newcastle at the Emirates as the Gunners look to close the gap on leaders Liverpool in the three-horse title race. Arteta said: “That’s me and I said what I felt in the moment and how I felt it. You get criticised for being honest and many other people fully agree with that.
“You know that when you talk publicly, you are not going to please everybody. At the end of the game, we have to be in front of the mic straight away and face those questions. People expect to hear our answers in an honest and straight way. And that’s what I did.
“Is there a better way to do it? There might be. I don’t know. But the lesson is that if you say what you believe in the right way, respectfully, do it. But what is the lesson? You have to say what others want to hear. Or does saying that help? It might but it might not.”
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Arteta certainly upset pundits like Sky duo Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher who doubled down on Arsenal then backing the manager with a club statement condemning the “unacceptable” standard of officials in the Premier League.
But Arteta did seek club approval even before going in front of the cameras. He briefed sporting director Edu and director Tim Lewis about what he was planning to say before he said it and did it with their full support.
Arteta said: “I have a duty to defend our players, to defend our club and to raise our voices when you feel something is not right. You have to say it.
Mikel Arteta insists he will not tone down his passion on the sidelines (CameraSport via Getty Images)“I also said that privately, in front of everybody’s face and it’s not something that I did publicly when I had not said it before. The order was right. I did it internally, I did it in front of them, face-to-face, then I did it publicly.
“Then I have to justify myself. It was a good experience as a coach! I have to tell you. To go through that. But I am lucky to have a club that gives me a lot of support as they did on that occasion.”
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