Fans are incensed after appearing to spot Mikel Arteta deploying one of his dark arts tricks to gain Arsenal the briefest of advantages against Aston Villa – noting that the the Gunners boss has deployed it in matches before.
The hosts ran out the 4-1 winners at the Emirates in what was eventually a routine win for the Premier League title chasers.
But there was no shortage of needle between the two sides on Tuesday evening, with Villa manager Unai Emery snubbing Arteta’s handshake after the final whistle, and travelling goalkeeper Emi Martinez swept up in a furious row with Arsenal supporters as he disappeared down the tunnel.
With Villa emerging as one of Arsenal’s main title rivals this season, Arteta’s players will have been keen to do everything in their power to avoid dropping points at home.
But Arteta seemed to take it to the next level, accused on social media of attempting to close down Jadon Sancho with the ball from the touchline.
In clips from the match, the Spaniard is seen leaving his technical area as Sancho edges closer to the touchline in an attempt to bypass Piero Hincapie’s press.
Mikel Arteta was spotted appearing to assist his Arsenal players with their man marking
The manager left his technical area and was a looming presence on the touchline as Jadon Sancho attempted to escape with the ball
Fans studying the footage believed that this in turn put Sancho under increased pressure, and may have played a role in his moving sideways back into the pitch, where he is eventually trapped by another Arsenal defender and loses the ball.
‘How (the f***) is this allowed?’ One commenter posted. ‘He literally stops Sancho from going on the outside.’
Another added: ‘Sancho should’ve played it wide and ran straight into Arteta… Would’ve been a straight red for Arteta. He does it all the time.’
Arsenal fans were among those who considered Arteta’s movement a tactic, with one writing: ‘Arteta marking sancho my manager (cry-laughing emoji)’.
But many shared the same thought, with one user articulating it by posting: ‘Arteta gets away with this WEEKLY. He hovers the touchline WAAAAYYY (sic) outside of his area to try and make players anxious.
‘This is at least the 100th clip I’ve seen this season alone. (FA) (PGMOL) needs to fix this!’
While there might be a spoonful of exaggeration in that phrasing, Arteta is certainly no stranger to straying outside his technical area, and has encountered opposition players trying to break down the wing.
Against Crystal Palace in Carabao Cup action on December 23, Arteta was a looming presence as Jaydee Canvot attempted to bypass a sprinting Myles Lewis-Skelly, with the Palace star rolling the ball out of play instead.
Jaydee Convot received similar treatment during last week’s Carabao Cup action in what looked like an unorthodox 2-v-1
The Spanish manager has a punchy history with Tottenham, having tangled with Pedro Porro in a pre-season friendly (left) and tried to shut down Dejan Kulusevski
Tuesday evening marked the second time that Arteta has been caught on the touchline against Villa, doing so previously in April 2024
There have been two instances of Arteta making his presence known on the touchline during north London derbies, with the manager tangling with Pedro Porro during the two teams’ pre-season tours this summer.
As Porro sought to find the right position for his throw-in, he encountered Arteta and pushed the manager back into his technical area, but before he could offer his response, the fourth official was swift to intervene.
The act saw Arteta pilloried online for ‘always trying to be the main main’ and being ‘an insufferable p***k’.
Arteta also appeared to look to put off Dejan Kulusevski when the two teams met in in the Premier League in September 2023, the manager sidestepping down the touchline in time with the Swedish international’s bid to escape out wide – which he duly did with a long pass forward.
Tuesday night’s opponents Villa have previously fallen victim to the so-called dark arts tactic, with Arteta stepping forward to the touchline a little too close to a running opposition player during their April 2024 meeting, which saw Arsenal stunned into a 2-0 defeat by the Villans.
But one of his most fiery interaction game against a player he knew well from his Man City coaching days – Kevin De Bruyne.
During the February 2023 meeting between the two teams, the Belgium international had been keen to take a quick throw-in, only for Arteta on the touchline to flick the ball out of his reach.
De Bruyne in turn shoved Arteta in the chest, with fourth official Darren England speeding to intervene as the pair exchanged words.
One of his memorable touchline spats came when Arteta attempted to delay Kevin De Bruyne
On Tuesday evening however, Arteta may have believed he was simply embodying the principles he saw in his side’s improved second-half display.
‘I always say that to continue to win, you have to win in different contexts,’ Arteta said after the final whistle.
‘Some games we did very good, and the margin should have been much bigger, and we didn’t manage to do that, so we went for smaller margins.
‘Today, maybe the margin wasn’t that big, but we made it (big), because we were extremely efficient and ruthless in the opposition box.’
