Arsenal's head coach Mikel Arteta has expressed his belief that referees in the Premier League hold him to a higher standard than other managers. In a bid to back up his assertion, he has embarked on an effort to gather video evidence demonstrating that his fellow coaches frequently breach touchline regulations, yet remain unpunished.
During Arsenal's 2-0 victory over Everton in Matchweek 8, Arteta received a yellow card for stepping out of the technical area. This warning constituted his second of the current season, putting him perilously close to a one-match suspension should he receive a third.
After the match, Arteta addressed the issue at his press conference, stating that he is forced to exercise extreme caution due to what he perceives as biased treatment, while other managers enjoy greater latitude:
I really have to be careful. There are coaches in the league with records of leaving the technical area 36 times in 10 minutes without receiving a single yellow card.
That’s why I’m compiling all these recordings. I have a massive video archive. If anyone claims, 'I didn’t break that record, it’s someone else’s,' then that other manager should be shown 36 yellow cards for those 10 minutes.
I don’t know where this will ultimately lead us.
Journalists suggest that having such archives is unlikely to influence any potential suspension if Arteta receives a third warning this season.
