VARTETA: THE REMATCH
It was the Tyne when Mikel went to war with refs and their tech... and he insists: There may be a better way but I thought I was right to be honest
ARSENAL v NEWCASTLE MIKEL ARTETA says he will always wear his heart on his sleeve, no matter what critics say
Arteta faces a rematch with Newcastle three months on from a bitter clash at St James’ Park which ended in rants, rows and recriminations.
Gunners boss Arteta was fuming after VAR allowed Anthony Gordon’s controversial winner to stand and his postmatch tirade 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 Premier League leaders Liverpool in the threehorse title race.
Arteta said: “I said what I felt in the moment but you get criticised for being honest.
“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 way. And that’s what I did.
“Is there a better way to do it? There might be, I don’t know.”
Arteta certainly upset Sky Sports pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher, who also criticised Arsenal’s decision to publicly back their manager by releasing a statement that condemned the “unacceptable” standard of officials in the Premier League.
But Arteta did seek club approval before going in front of the cameras. He also instructed a video analyst to replay the three key incidents to his players so they would understand the controversy.
Arteta then briefed sporting director Edu and director Tim Lewis about what he was planning to say before he said it and got their full support.
Arteta said: “I have a duty to defend our players, to defend our club, and to raise our voices when we feel something is not right. I am lucky to have a club that gives me a lot of support.”
Arteta admits he wanted the Newcastle game to be played tomorrow, rather than this evening, after a long midweek Champions League trip to Porto. The Spaniard (above) said: “At least we are not playing the 12.30 kick-offs that we used to so there is some improvement. But I think we can still do a bit more for our players.
“But after the defeat in Porto the players have a desire to make a statement.”
Arteta believes the standard of refereeing has improved since he made his controversial comments on Tyneside.
“The decisions are better and I think the last stats that came across show that there was a significant improvement and a lot of the decisions they were getting right.”
Thomas Partey, who has not played since suffering a thigh injury in October, could return tonight.
Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko could also return – and Arteta had encouraging news on Jurrien Timber, the summer signing who has been out since suffering a serious knee injury on his Premier League debut in August.
Asked if Timber could play again this season, the Spaniard said: “He’s doing really well. He’s been with some players on the pitch. He’s going to start to do some bits with us on the pitch in the next week or so.”
Arsenal go into the match five points behind Liverpool but with a game in hand.