Mikel Arteta Insists He Must Defend Arsenal After Shaming EPL Refereeing

Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, who described the Premier League refereeing as embarrassing, has insisted that he must defend his club.

Mikel Arteta couldn’t control his utterances last weekend after his team suffered a controversial 1-0 defeat at the hands of Newcastle United.

In the 64th minute of the game, Anthony Gordon scored the winner for Newcastle United in front of their home fans but the VAR spent about four minutes checking different aspects of the goal.

The VAR checked whether Joe Willock kept the ball in play, Joelinton fouled Arsenal’s goalkeeper David Raya, and if Gordon was offside or not. At the end of all the checks, the VAR confirmed that it was a goal.

After the 1-0 win, Mikel Arteta told the press that the goal shouldn’t have stood, insisting that the decision was “embarrassing, it’s an absolute disgrace, that’s what it is: a disgrace”.

While Mikel Arteta suffered a series of backlash from opposing clubs for his attack on the Premier League, his club issued a statement to support Arteta’s stance.

Ahead of Arsenal’s UEFA Champions League game against Sevilla at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, November 8, Mikel Arteta was asked to comment on his outburst. The Spanish tactician stood his ground and insisted that he was doing his duty.

“I must stand in front of you and give a clear and honest assessment,” Arteta said on Tuesday, November 7.

“I must defend my players and my club in the best possible way. It is what I intend to do time after time.

“I always do it and will take my responsibility to do it. It’s the way I am. I have to defend my club.”

He added, “We must express how we feel on the evidence we have. We have to stand for our people, our values, and who we are.

“The club statement shows the unity and the understanding in the club clearly and honestly. That’s our duty as a club.”

Mikel Arteta and Arsenal are expected to be fined over the comments against the Premier League and the fine could come with a touchline ban for the Spanish tactician. However, at the time of writing, the Premier League was yet to make an official reaction to Arteta’s outburst.