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Mikel Arteta was criticised for his touchline antics during Arsenal’s goalless draw against Newcastle on Tuesday.
The Arsenal boss was furious after his side were denied two “scandalous” penalties against the Magpies, first when Dan Burn pulled Gabriel Magalhães back after a free-kick, and the second when Jacob Murphy appeared to handle the ball in the game’s closing stages.
The Spaniard let his anger be known, wildly gesticulating on the touchline and clashing with Newcastle boss Eddie Howe with minutes to go, while Arsenal were pushing for a winner.
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After the draw, which brought an end to the Gunners’ 11-game winning streak at the Emirates Stadium, Arteta said, via the BBC: "There were two penalties. It's very simple. I'm talking about what I've seen. It was two scandalous penalties.”
However, Arteta’s behaviour has been criticised by certain quarters of Twitter.
Arteta’s touchline antics
Some sections of Twitter were critical of Arteta’s behaviour in the closing stages of Arsenal's midweek clash against Newcastle.
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The Telegraph’s Jason Burt tweeted: “At Arsenal v Newcastle.. don't want to enrage Arsenal fans but Mikel Arteta doing his nut at every decision/ tackle doesn't appear to be helping his team.
“He surely needs to calm down. They are far better when they just play. Newcastle are certainly well-organised.”
Former Sky presenter Richard Keys, who never shies away from an opinion, added: “Seriously - when is someone going to get control of Mikel Arteta? He’s an embarrassment. Totally out of control during games.”
Furthermore, ESPN's Mark Ogden said: “Arteta needs to keep his head better than this if Arsenal are to win the title. It's only January. The tension hasn't even started yet.”
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However, many Arsenal fans have defended their manager and claimed that they should have been awarded a pair of penalties in the cagey encounter.
Twitter user Nick Casale insisted: “There was blatant time-wasting, systematic fouling, poor refereeing, a team parking a bus, two completely ignored penalties given in any other game and you pick out Arteta needing to calm down?”
TheLankyGunner also said: “Arteta rattles every other fanbase & I’m here for it. Every game they have a complete meltdown about his passion!”
Arteta's touchline behaviour criticised in past
Arteta’s touchline behaviour has been criticised in the past.
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Jamie Carragher in particular was scathing of the Arsenal boss’ behaviour during the Gunners’ 4-0 loss against Liverpool in November 2021.
The Arsenal boss had to be physically pulled back as he clashed with Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp in a heated first-half touchline row.
Carragher, who is a former Liverpool player, said Arteta’s behaviour helped the Reds take control of the game.
“I think Arteta will look back at that and think it was a mistake,” he told Sky Sports at the time.
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“If that was a player on the pitch who did a silly challenge and lifted the crowd or the opposition - we’ve all been there in the dressing room and you come in at half time and the manager is saying: ‘Look at what you’ve done. You’ve lifted this crowd’.
“I think he’ll look back at that and think it’s something he’ll probably regret and won’t get involved in situations like that again, certainly at a place like this where the crowd wasn’t going quiet, but there wasn’t a lot happening for Liverpool.
“It was a different Liverpool second half. I think Jurgen Klopp would have asked for more intensity. I think there was a change in the game, and that was Arteta and Klopp going head-to-head on the side of the pitch.
“That seemed to change the crowd and the game.”
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Football, Arsenal, Mikel Arteta, Jamie Carragher, Newcastle United, Liverpool