Mikel Arteta Reveals Secret 'Touchline' Dossier On Other Managers

Mikel Arteta has revealed he is building a library of footage showing rival managers straying from their technical areas, after a booking in Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Everton left him one caution away from a touchline ban.

The Arsenal boss was shown a yellow card by referee Tony Harrington at The Emirates Stadium on Saturday, though not before attempting a cheeky escape. In a moment that quickly did the rounds on social media, Arteta appeared to point towards his assistant, Gabriel Heinze, in an attempt to have the Argentine booked instead of himself.

The ploy did not work, and with one more yellow card set to trigger a one-match touchline ban, Arteta admitted he now has to tread carefully. However, he also made clear he believes he is being held to a different standard from some of his counterparts.

‘I do have to be careful. I am going to put sensors there,’ Arteta said after the match. ‘There are other managers, there are managers that have the record in the league [where] 36 times in ten minutes they leave the touchline, no yellows. I am clipping all of that.

‘So, I have a massive, now, storage of images. So if somebody comes, to say, “I am not in the record yet, somebody else has the record”, so let’s see. Then it is 36 yellow cards in ten minutes for the managers, I don’t know where we are going to be! Let’s see...’

The comments were delivered with a smile, but they carry a clear message. Arteta has been one of the Premier League’s most frequently booked managers in recent seasons, and he was the joint leader for managerial yellow cards in 2023/24, sharing that unwanted title with Roberto De Zerbi on five each.

Yesterday, the now-Tottenham Hotspur manager ran the length of the touchline and entered the pitch to celebrate his side's goal against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge whilst escaping punishment. He had already recieved a booking earlier in the second-half, and so another yellow would have handed him a ban.

On the pitch, it was a reasonably comfortable afternoon. Ezri Konsa opened the scoring after just seven minutes, bundling in his first goal for the club at the back post after Everton failed to clear a corner. Gabriel then doubled the lead in the 69th minute, coming in at the back post from Ben White’s cross to mark his 200th Premier League appearance in style.

The victory saw Arteta’s side move level on 21 points with Manchester City at the top of the Premier League, after Enzo Maresca’s side suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of former Arsenal manager Unai Emery at Aston Villa.

The Gunners travel to Fleetwood Town in the Carabao Cup fourth round before a visit to Liverpool, as Arsenal hope to see their first league win at Anfield since 2012, when Arteta was involved in a 2-0 victory.