Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has set the example for Premier League managers to follow when disagreeing with refereeing decisions.
This comes after Thomas Tuchel's public shaming of Anthony Taylor, and to some extent Mike Dean on VAR, for the fiery London derby at Stamford Bridge that ended in a 2-2 draw. The Chelsea boss was extremely unhappy with Taylor's decisions and said after the game,"not only the fans. The players know what is going on. They know it." He also added that "maybe it would be better" if Taylor did not referee Chelsea again.
The German is now certain to get a misconduct fine and will also miss Chelsea's next match, at least, following his red card at full time against Tottenham. Having been in a similar position against Spurs earlier this year, Arteta has been praised for his own course of action.
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Following the 3-0 north London derby defeat at the end of last season, Arteta was critical of referee Paul Tierney after a controversial penalty decision and red card against Rob Holding. When speaking about the officials after the game, Arteta said, "If I say what I think I am suspended for six months. I don't know how to lie so I prefer not to say what I think.
"I am not unhappy with my players. I am proud of my players. I want the referees to come in front of the camera and explain his decisions. It's a shame because such a beautiful game was destroyed today.
Henry Winter gave his view on how managers should react in these tough situations, praising Arteta and saying, "Tuchel crossed the line in accusing Taylor of bias & a misconduct charge is inevitable. Managers have to be more professional, however frustrated. Voice grievances through reports and private meetings (as Arteta did)."
Arteta has previously said, also last season, that he would prefer not to speak rather than be overly critical of the referees, saying again after the Spurs result, "what I have tried to do I think in three years here is not make any complaints. I have no complaint and I didn’t complain on Thursday. I just said I could not give a clear assessment on what I thought about the game. And that’s it.
“Whatever we do we will try to defend the club in the right way like we have always tried to do. The other night I tried to do it as well. That was not trying to affect anybody. But I was being clear and honest. I think that is my job and my responsibility when I talk on behalf of the club to express how we feel. And if I cannot do it, I prefer not to."
Earlier on in the season the Spaniard also played a safe line after more controversial decisions cost his side at home to Manchester City. Although Arteta missed the match with illness, he did go on to say, "If I have to rate the decisions that were made in that game, I have to be extremely disappointed because it was completely inconsistent and affected in a big way the result. So I prefer not to talk much about it."
Whereas the Arsenal boss has seemingly mastered the art of diplomatic messages after the game, Tuchel still has a way to go before everyone agrees with his judgement of the referees.
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