Richard Keys pulled no punches when airing his latest thoughts on Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.
Mikel Arteta has come under fire from Richard Keys before, when he was blasted by the presenter for his treatment of Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale earlier this season.
Now, the Spanish coach is in the firing line again as a result of his recent touchline antics.
During the Gunners’ 2-0 win against Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday, Arteta picked up his fourth yellow card of the season so far. Whilst many Arsenal fans came to the manager’s defence after this booking, it can’t be denied that Arteta has a bad habit of getting himself into trouble with officials. Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards recently said that Arteta is treading “a fine line.”
In Arsenal’s last Premier League game, prior to their clash with the south coast club, Arteta was forced to watch on from the stands as his side were beaten by Aston Villa. He could not take up his usual place in the dugout as he was serving a suspension for having picked up three bookings.
In fact, no Arsenal player has picked up more yellow cards in the Premier League so far this season than Arteta.
What’s more, the former midfielder was recently the subject of an FA investigation following the disparaging comments he made about referees in the wake of the Gunners’ defeat against Newcastle United. Ultimately, though, he was cleared of all charges in this instance. That does not change the fact, though, that Arteta is a marked man in the eyes of officials and ought to be trying to keep out of trouble.
Richard Keys targets Mikel Arteta in rant
Keys certainly feels that Arteta needs to address and alter his behaviour. In a rant on his personal blog, the former Sky Sports anchor said, “come on Mikel. You sat in the stands last weekend and in the same week somehow got away with your rant at Newcastle. Don’t get me wrong – I’m glad you did. I have always defended a managers’ right to express his thoughts after a game. But stop it.”
“Stop behaving like a fool in your technical area – and stop taking us all for fools. It’s not clever. It’s not necessary. And you can control it. You deserved your latest booking. Let’s make it the last one eh?”
Of course, it will be difficult for Arteta to change his behaviour quickly, or to any great extent. It is in his nature to be an animated and expressive figure on the touchline. Throughout any given match he can usually be seen barking instructions to his players and gesticulating wildly. There is also an argument that this energy is infectious, spreading to the players in a positive way and amping up the Emirates Stadium crowd.
The manager will certainly be keen to avoid further suspensions, though. Therefore he needs to find a way of releasing his instinctive energy on the sidelines without drawing the ire of the officials.
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