Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta learns FA decision regarding his alleged breach after loss to Newcastle

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been cleared by the English FA after claims he made insulting remarks following defeat to Newcastle United last month were found to be 'not proven'.

The FA put out a statement on their website (via AFCstuff) clearing the Spaniard of any charges after he was said to have made offensive remarks about the match officials and the video assistant referees (VAR).

The statement read:

"An independent Regulatory Commission has found the charge against Mikel Arteta for an alleged breach of FA Rule E3.1 to be not proven.

"The manager was charged following various comments in media interviews after Arsenal’s Premier League game against Newcastle United on Saturday, 4 November.

"It was alleged that his comments constituted misconduct in that they were insulting towards match officials and/or detrimental to the game and/or brought the game into disrepute."

This announcement means Mikel Arteta will be free to return to the touchline having served a one-match suspension for the same against Aston Villa.

He will be cleared to take to the touchline when the Gunners host Brighton & Hove Albion over the weekend.

Arsenal are currently second in the Premier League with 36 points from 16 games and are one point behind leaders Liverpool. After the game with the Seagulls, the Gunners will travel to Merseyside to face Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, December 23, in what proves to be a blockbuster matchup.

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Arsenal finish 2023-24 Champions League group stage with best goal difference

Arsenal marked their return to the Champions League this season after a six-year absence and did it in some style. Mikel Arteta's men finished top of Group B with 13 points from six games, four ahead of runners-up PSV Eindhoven.

The Gunners scored 16 goals and conceded four, finishing the group phase with a +12 goal difference. This meant that they had the highest GD among all 32 teams that were part of the group stages. They also kept clean sheets in three of their games.

Arsenal edged Manchester City to top spot in the list, with Pep Guardiola's men keeping a GD of +11, having scored 18 goals and conceded seven. Diego Simeone's defensively sound Atletico Madrid were joint-second with a +11 GD, having scored 17 goals and conceded six.

The Gunners will find out about their round of 16 opponents in the draw which will take place in Nyon, Switzerland on December 18.