Arteta wants freedom to talk about referees

Coach Mikel Arteta has confirmed that he will continue to speak out and oppose the accusations of the English Football Association (FA) for his statements aimed at the referee after the loss to Newcastle earlier this month.

"It's good that we're communicating," Arteta said at a press conference on November 24 ahead of the Premier League match against Brentford. "All of us, managers, referees, organizers, owners, sporting directors, journalists, want the game to be better. To do that, we have to have the freedom to speak our minds in a respectful and constructive manner. Otherwise, things won't improve. It's good that they're speaking to the media and explaining the situation, because that brings clarity."

Coach Arteta directs Arsenal's training session on November 23. Photo: arsenal.com — Coach Arteta directs Arsenal's training session on November 23. Photo: *arsenal.com*

After the defeat at St James' Park on November 4, Arteta criticised Newcastle's decision to award a goal as "shameful" and criticised the level of Premier League referees. At the press conference afterwards, the Spanish coach affirmed that his criticism of Premier League referees was justified, while emphasizing that his duty was to speak out to protect the players and the club.

Last week, the FA charged Arteta with breaching rule E3.1 for "comments that constitute misconduct by being insulting to the referees and/or detrimental to the game and/or bringing the game into disrepute". The 42-year-old is expected to defend himself at the FA hearing. According to British newspaper Sunsport , the FA could impose a fine in the next 10 days, with Arteta potentially facing a touchline ban.

Asked if he would change the way he talks about referees in the future, Arteta replied: "I think you have to be yourself. As the head of the club, you have to be honest. You can't be someone else, and that's who I am."

Today's trip to Brentford will mark Arteta's 200th game in charge of Arsenal in all competitions. In 199 games, he has won 115, drawn 34 and lost 50. Regardless of the result at Gtech Community, he will still be the Arsenal manager with the highest win rate in his first 200 games in charge of the club, with 59.3%.

Arteta is proud and wants to have 200, 300 more matches leading Arsenal. He also sent his gratitude to each member, player for the support, joy, trust, inspiration to overcome difficult times together in the past 4 years. "Working at a big club is always difficult, because you have to win a lot of matches. Hopefully there will be more positive things," the 41-year-old coach expressed.

Arteta confirmed Aaron Ramsdale will start for the first time in the Premier League since the 3-1 win over Man Utd on 3 September, with David Raya unable to play for his parent club Brentford as part of his loan deal with Arsenal. He is hopeful defender Ben White and captain Martin Odegaard will be fit in time and said striker Gabriel Jesus is ready to play after playing the full 90 minutes of Brazil's 2026 World Cup qualifier against Argentina a few days ago.

Hong Duy (according to arsenal.com )

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