Mikel Arteta does not believe that Arsenal’s relationship with PGMOL has been damaged by the fallout from last season’s controversial defeat at Newcastle.
The Gunners, who travel to Tyneside on Saturday, were beaten 1-0 at St James’ Park last November after Anthony Gordon struck midway through the second half.
The goal, however, was marred in controversy and survived three VAR checks before referee Stuart Attwell eventually gave it.
Arteta went on a furious rant after that match, labelling the decision as “embarrassing” and a “disgrace”. The Spaniard was charged by the Football Association (FA), but he was later cleared of any wrongdoing by an independent regulatory commission.
Arsenal have been involved in a number of contentious refereeing decisions since then, but Arteta does not believe there has been any lasting consequence from the fallout with PGMOL.
“Hopefully we are past it,” he said. “We talked through it in depth and that’s done. It is a year. A year in football is a long, long time.
“Every club has got its history and they have games and situations and comments. That is part of the game and we have to understand it as it is.
“Every decision I make I am going to be criticised, or nobody is going to understand or they will understand and praise it. There are always going to be opinions about our jobs, that’s normal.”
Arsenal and Newcastle are meeting again at St James’ Park this weekend, and Arteta has revealed that he has not been able to watch the Gordon goal back.
“I didn’t stop on that sequence! I didn’t want to go through that,” he said. “It is already on my hard drive so I didn’t want to go through that again.”
Arteta’s tone on the touchline and in press conferences has mellowed in the last 12 months and he is one of only five Premier League managers not to be booked so far this season.
“I don’t want to miss any games, that is for sure,” he said. “I cannot promise you that if we score a goal I am not going to be jumping up and down the touchline.
“I cannot guarantee that. Hopefully as well they have adapted and they have understood that emotions are a big part of that. I cannot control myself in the scoreline and so far it has worked.”
Arteta is a big advocate for meditation and it is part of his daily routine, but he joked that he does not yet use it to control his emotions around refereeing decisions.
“On the touchline, I haven’t got to that point where I am in meditation mode yet,” he said. “But maybe it is something that has to happen!
“I just want the best for the team and I want to give the team the best chance to be as competitive as possible, to win the majority of the football matches.
“When they changed the rules and certain behaviours towards the touchline we need to adapt to that and evolve. That is what I try to do.”
