Arsenal have received a surprise boost as Arne Slot’s Liverpool dropped points against Everton in the Merseyside derby.
The fixture at Goodison Park was Liverpool’s game in hand over the Gunners and a win would’ve seen them go nine points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
The Reds, despite an underwhelming performance, led 2-1 until the final moments of the game, but James Tarkowski’s brilliant volley levelled the score.
After the full-time whistle, an angry Slot charged onto the pitch to speak to Michael Oliver and appeared to have a go at him while shaking his hand.
The referee, who had already shown red cards to Curtis Jones and Abdoulaye Doucoure, sent Slot off as well for the way he acted.
That has sparked a lot of reactions on social media.
Arsenal fans make Mikel Arteta claim after Arne Slot’s red card
Mikel Arteta is often wrongly criticised by certain pundits and the media for his reactions to terrible refereeing decisions.
The Arsenal manager is way more respectful towards officials than people give him credit for, but that does not fit some people’s narrative.
After Slot got his red card against Everton on Wednesday night, Arsenal fans were quick to point out how nobody is having a go at the Liverpool manager for his behaviour.
If that was Arteta, the reaction would’ve been completely different.
One Arsenal fan tweeted: “Say what you want about Mikel Arteta’s “touchline antics” but he’s never walked on the pitch after a game, raged at the referee and got sent off. Let’s see how the PGMOL and the media handle this one.”
Another said: “Arteta, who is generally despised by the media and fans for no apparent reason, never had a headloss like Slot had tonight, even though Arsenal received some of the worst refereeing performances in the history of football.”
“With all the controversial decisions against Arteta, my man has always kept calm without taking a red. Slot got a straight red without any serious negative calls on his team today. Clear and obvious penalty (for Everton) was even overlooked,” wrote another.
Another Gooner posted: “The way Arteta would be hated by the media for doing this. You hear nothing when Slot does it!”
“Arne Slot was complaining all game on the touchline and then walked on the pitch at FT and disrespected Michael Oliver. Mikel Arteta gets a lot of stick for “showing passion” but he’s always been class and didn’t disrespect the refs like that,” tweeted another.
People have one very wrong assumption about Mikel Arteta
Everything Arteta does at Arsenal – on or off the pitch – is scrutinised massively by rival fans, pundits and certain sections of the media.
They try to paint the Arsenal manager as the bad guy time and again, and that is not right at all.
One of the biggest misconceptions about Arteta is that he is disrespectful. Why? Because he shows passion on the touchline and steps out of his technical area every now and then.
Making Arteta a villain for not hiding his emotions on the touchline is utterly ridiculous – some people just want managers to become robots these days.
The assumption that ‘Arteta is disrespectful’ to the referees or the game is as wrong as anything can ever be. That perception needs to change ASAP!
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