Mikel Arteta has insisted he will continue to passionately celebrate Arsenal goals despite being handed a one-match touchline ban.
The Gunners boss was shown a yellow card for ‘excessively celebrating’ his side’s last-second winner against Luton on Wednesday. As that was his third booking of the season, Arteta has been banned from the dugout for Saturday’s clash with Aston Villa.
Instead, he will have to watch the game from the director’s box due to new rules that were brought in ahead of this season. But Arteta has now hit back at the FA, insisting he will not be able to curb his emotions if Arsenal score a similar goal to their Luton winner.
“I think we have a boundary that maybe we have to extend or we just need a very strong rope with the bench so maybe we don’t move. That means we don’t move, all of us, we don’t move. I don’t know, the decision is made,” he said ahead of the clash with Villa.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think I’m going to change it from here to Sunday. We had some meetings on the evidence, opinions, conclusions and content that we had. We’re just waiting to hear.
“I think I’m going to be in a director’s box. I don’t know, it’s a discussion we’re going to have later on, but let’s see. I will have a really nice view hopefully. I don’t know how to stop [celebrating], it was a really emotional moment.
“You have everybody bouncing around and you lose sense of where you are, and the space that you have to be in. It was unfortunate because now I cannot be next to my team on the touchline. But it is a decision that they have made.”
This is not the first time Arteta has been missing from the touchline, he also missed last season’s clash with Manchester City after testing positive for Covid-19. He believes that experience will stand his side in good stead, as he admitted he will try to stay calm in the directors’ box.
“Never say never, because the game can get very emotional, but I will try not to do that. I would like to be there with my players because we work closely every single day to achieve what we want, which is to win the games in whatever manner,” he added.
“When you get those moments in sport, you should be able to do that, but I understand as well there are certain boundaries and you have to respect them, such as when you are in an away ground. But if I was given the chance, I would be there jumping.
“They will play better, and they will be more positive, and I can influence them with my positive mind, and we have very experienced coaches; Albert, Carlos, Nico will be there next to them. We’ve done it in the past from home so let’s do it now.
“Well at least I have a little experience with that! And now it’s going to be the second one, but it’s going to be much closer which I think is positive.”