Arteta claims he has 'massive storage' of rival managers' touchline breaches
Mikel Arteta has revealed he is compiling video evidence of rival Premier League managers straying from their technical areas, insisting he is far from the worst offender despite picking up his second yellow card of the season for the offence.
The Arsenal boss was booked during the Gunners' victory over Everton on Saturday for leaving his technical area, a habit that has become something of a trademark in recent years. Rather than accept the criticism quietly, Arteta used his press conference to point the finger elsewhere.
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"I do have to be careful. They should put sensors there," Arteta said. "There are managers who have the record in the league, 36 times in 10 minutes [they] leave the touchline, no yellows."
"I am clipping all of that so I have now a massive storage of images, so if somebody comes to me I can say, 'I am not in the record yet'. Somebody else has the record so let's see."
"Then it's 36 yellow cards in 10 minutes for the managers. I don't know what we are going to do, let's see."
Who holds the record?
Arteta did not name the manager he believes should hold the dubious honour, leaving plenty of room for speculation. A BBC Sport study from April 2025 found that among current top flight bosses, Aston Villa's Unai Emery spent the most time outside his technical area, though it remains unclear whether he is the manager Arteta had in mind.
The comments come across as tongue in cheek rather than a genuine complaint, with Arteta seemingly amused by his own reputation for wandering rather than aggrieved by the referee's decision to book him.
A recurring theme
This is not the first time Arteta's touchline conduct has drawn attention. The Spaniard has regularly found himself a few yards beyond his designated area during matches, animatedly directing his players, and officials have clearly taken note given this is already his second caution of the campaign for the offence.
Whether Arteta ever reveals the identity of his mystery culprit, or produces the footage he claims to have stockpiled, remains to be seen. For now, Premier League colleagues have been put on notice that their own touchline habits may be under closer scrutiny than they realise.
