Arteta reveals he's 'clipping' rival managers leaving technical area
Mikel Arteta has revealed he is compiling video footage of rival Premier League managers repeatedly stepping out of their technical areas, 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 the infraction, leaving him one yellow card away from a one match touchline ban. Rather than simply accepting the punishment, Arteta used his post match press conference to make a pointed claim about the inconsistency of enforcement across the league.
The Friday Injury Tracker
Who's out, who's back and what it means for the next two games.
"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 deliver from set pieces
The booking came on a afternoon where Arsenal moved level on points with leaders Manchester City, with both goals arriving 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 Arsenal scored from a set piece for the first time this season.
Gabriel then sealed the win with a 68th minute header, scoring shortly after recovering from an injury scare that had left him down on the pitch requiring treatment. Arteta pointed to the Brazilian's reaction as a reflection of his side'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 offered no further detail on its severity.
The Arsenal boss had further praise for Konsa, who joined from Aston Villa in the summer and has quickly struck up a partnership with Gabriel at the back.
"He's come to a huge club like Arsenal with no pre-season when Saliba is here, with other players that are already here," said Arteta. "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, whose side suffered a second successive defeat following last weekend's loss to Chelsea, admitted his team never reached the level required. "I just felt we didn't really get to a level which I think would have been good enough to win on the day," he said. "We gave away a goal very early which meant we were chasing the game."
Arsenal will now look to build on their position level with Manchester City at the top of the table as the season progresses, with Arteta's touchline discipline likely to remain under scrutiny in the weeks ahead.
