Ex-Arsenal chief claims Mikel Arteta has damaged the club's reputation with his antics

Former Arsenal executive David Dein has publicly expressed his belief that Mikel Arteta has negatively impacted the club's reputation through his recent behavior. This criticism follows a heated reaction from Arteta after the Gunners' loss to Newcastle United in a Premier League match earlier this month, which had a lot of VAR controversy.

The match's decisive moment came with Anthony Gordon's goal, which stood despite three separate VAR reviews. Initially, it was unclear if the entire ball had crossed the byline before Joe Willock stretched to keep it in play. The available camera angles failed to conclusively resolve this doubt.

Further complicating matters, Joelinton seemed to push Gunners defender Gabriel during the play. However, VAR did not find sufficient grounds to overturn the on-field decision, which did not penalize the alleged foul.

Moreover, Gordon's positioning raised offside concerns when he received Joelinton's header. However, the lack of clear camera angles prevented VAR official Andy Madley from making a definitive judgment. There was also suspicion that Joelinton might have handled the ball before it reached Gordon, but this potential infraction was not reviewed by VAR.

After the game, Arteta furiously responded publicly (via Football London):

"We have to talk about the result because you have to talk about how the hell this goal stand ups and it’s incredible. I feel embarrassed but I have to be the one now coming here to try to defend the club and please ask for help, because it's an absolute disgrace that this goal is allowed; it’s an absolute disgrace."

Dein criticized Arteta's response to these incidents, suggesting that the manager's actions were overblown and did the image of the club no good. In an interview with TalkSPORT, he remarked:

"They lost on a controversial incident about VAR, but some decisions are going to go for you, some will go against. You've got to accept both to life... There is a process in place on how they do all these things, and I just think it was a little bit unnecessary. I don't think it did the image of the club any good."

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FA charges Arsenal's Mikel Arteta following post-match comments

Mikel Arteta is currently facing charges from the Football Association (FA) due to his vehement criticism of the officiating in Arsenal's recent 1-0 defeat to Newcastle. Despite the Arsenal manager receiving support from his club and reaffirming his stance, the FA has now officially charged him.

According to the FA, Arteta's remarks are deemed "insulting towards match officials and/or detrimental to the game and/or bring the game into disrepute." Arteta has been given until November 21 to respond to these charges (via Eurosport).

This development comes as Arsenal, currently holding the third spot in the Premier League standings, prepare for their next match against Brentford. The Newcastle defeat has been their only league loss so far this season.