Arsenal boss Arteta branded "disrespectful" by Premier League legend

Tensions were high in Tuesday night's grudge match between Arsenal and Newcastle, and Gunners boss Mikel Arteta was amongst the thick of it.

The 40-year-old was spotted sprinting from his technical area to confront fourth officials throughout the game.

Arteta has since come under fire, with many fans calling his touchline antics unsportsmanlike and out of control.

In his post-match interview, the Spaniard referred to referee Anthony Madley's decision making as "scandalous", after he waved away two penalty appeals. A total of seven yellow cards were awarded in a scrappy affair which ended goalless at the Emirates.

Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer is the next to criticise Arteta's behaviour, labelling him "disrespectful" to the opposition.

"Disrespectful" Arteta

"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," Shearer stated on Premier League Productions.

"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 added.

The Premier League all-time top goalscorer acknowledged that stakes were high, but warned the former Arsenal player to keep his cool, saying: "He needs to calm down. I get that 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."

Shearer continued: "He needs to calm down. He’s the one making the tough decisions so he needs to stay calm. At the minute he’s just going crazy and that can’t be helpful to the players can it?"

Shearer joins a whole host of pundits in condemning the manager's emotional outbursts. Among them is Richard Keys who tweeted: "Seriously - when is someone going to get control of Mikel Arteta? He's an embarrassment. Totally out of control during games."

The other side

However, others have got behind the Arsenal boss. Former Gunners striker Ian Wright believes his behaviour was nothing out of the ordinary, and mentioned several other managers who would have acted the same.

"He's so plugged into the game, that’s the way he is," Wright said of Arteta following the final whistle.

"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 59-year-old continued.

You wouldn't expect tempers to fall either, with Arsenal facing bitter rivals Tottenham up next in the Premier League.