Arteta claims he's secretly filming rival managers leaving technical area
Mikel Arteta has revealed he is keeping a personal archive of rival Premier League managers breaching technical area rules, after picking up his second yellow card of the season during Arsenal's 2-0 win over Everton at the Emirates Stadium.
The Spaniard was booked by referee Tony Harrington in the second half for stepping outside his technical area, leaving him one yellow card away from a one match touchline ban. Rather than accept the punishment quietly, Arteta joked about installing sensors on the sidelines and claimed other top flight bosses are getting away with the same offence far more often.
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"I do have to be careful, yeah," said Arteta. "I'm going to put sensors there! There are other managers (doing it), there are managers that have the record in the league: 36 times in 10 minutes they leave the touchline, no yellows. So I am clipping all of that so I have a massive storage of images, so if somebody comes to me (I can say) I'm not in the record yet, somebody else has the record."
Konsa and Gabriel seal the points
On the pitch, Arsenal moved level on points with leaders Manchester City courtesy of two goals from centre backs. Ezri Konsa opened his account for the club in the seventh minute, converting from close range after a Martin Odegaard corner, as the Gunners scored from a set piece for the first time this season.
Gabriel then sealed the win with a 68th minute header, having recovered from an injury scare moments earlier that left him needing medical treatment on the pitch. Arteta pointed to the Brazilian's reaction as a reflection of the squad's character.
"The mentality of the team is the mentality of the individuals in the team," said Arteta. "Gabi's a great example of that, because we were all scared, not because of the way he went down, but the reaction of the players that were next to him. Immediately he says he wants to continue and then he scores a goal to help us win the game. That's what we need from our players."
Calafiori issue and praise for Konsa
Arteta also confirmed that substitute Riccardo Calafiori picked up a "slight" issue during the match, though he did not elaborate further on the severity.
The Arsenal boss had further praise for Konsa, who arrived from Aston Villa in the summer and has quickly struck up a partnership with Gabriel at the back. "Unbelievable," said Arteta. "He's come to a huge club like Arsenal with no pre-season when Saliba is here, with other players that are already here. And to position yourself in that manner, with that naturality and performing at the level that he's doing and building already a chemistry and a balance with Gabi that seems so solid, it's very, very difficult to do and we are really lucky to have him."
Everton manager David Moyes reflected on a second successive defeat for his side, following last weekend's loss to Chelsea, saying his team "didn't really get to a level which I think would have been good enough to win on the day."
Arsenal will now look to build on their position at the top of the table as the season progresses, with Arteta's touchline discipline likely to remain under close watch in the weeks ahead.
