Mikel Arteta believes he has learned from Arsenal’s controversial defeat at Newcastle last season and is trying to keep a lid on his emotions because he does not want to miss any matches through suspension from the dugout.
Arteta was cleared of making insulting comments about match officials following Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat at St James’ Park last season after Var decided not to rule did not recommend ruling out Anthony Gordon’s winning goal. The Spaniard is one of only five managers in the Premier League not to have been shown a yellow card this season as his side prepare to face Newcastle in Saturday’s early kick-off.
Arteta, who is hopeful that Gabriel Magalhães could be fit to face Eddie Howe’s side but has doubts over Ben White’s participation due owing to a joint issue, revealed that he has said he had been making a conscious effort not to cross the line.
“I don’t want to miss any games, that is for sure,” he said. “I cannot promise you that if we score a goal I am not going to be jumping up and down the touchline. I cannot guarantee that. Hopefully, as well they [the match officials] have adapted and they have understood that emotions are a big part of that. I cannot control myself in the scoreline and so far it has worked.”
Asked whether he had been meditating to help deal with some of the less favourable decisions, Arteta replied: “On the touchline, I haven’t got to that point where I am in meditation mode yet, but maybe it is something that has to happen! I just want the best for the team and I want to give the team the best chance to be as competitive as possible, to win the majority of the football matches. When they changed the rules and certain behaviours towards the touchline we need to adapt to that and evolve. That is what I try to do.”
New Zealand’s rugby union team were at Arsenal’s training ground on Wednesday to prepare for their meeting with England on Saturday, although Arteta was unable to spend any time with their head coach, Scott Robertson, who he described as “an inspiration”, because of their trip to face Preston in the EFL Cup. The Arsenal manager also recommended a book called Legacy: What the All Blacks Can Teach Us about the Business of Life which has informed his approach as a manager over the years.
Asked which particular ideas he had embraced, Arteta replied: “A few. It’s especially about the culture and the importance of clarity, or what it means when you put on a jersey. The sense of belonging to something. When somebody plays with that feeling, I think it elevates his level of commitment, it elevates his capacity to perform and impact the organisation in a different way.” — Guardian
