Arteta's VAR rant a perfect distraction for stumbling Arsenal - opinion
As we've long stated here, Arteta is a serious football man. Organised. Calculated. As much as he's at the beginning of his managerial career, the Basque has shown enough to suggest there is always thought behind his actions.
While those former peers, now on the outside looking in, want to claim the touchline rants are proof of Arteta losing control, the evidence - his players - would suggest otherwise.
"We love it," declared Declan Rice after Wednesday night's Champions League win against Sevilla. "You see how passionate Mikel Arteta is. He's living the game through us. He's so energetic. It really fires us up for the game."
Arteta knows what he's doing. There's a method to it. The passion. The energy. His players, as Rice attests, live off it. As we say, it's calculated. It's part of the manager's matchday approach. And for the moment, it's benefiting his team.
Which is why the reasons behind his rant against VAR and that goal at Newcastle United on Saturday wasn't just about refereeing. This was about his players. Uniting them. Shaking them and bringing through a siege mentality. Arsenal were flat at St James' Park. They lacked spark. Creativity.
On balance of play, it was no great injustice that they left Tyneside pointless.
But Arteta managed to still find positives from such an uninspired performance. Yes, Anthony Gordon's goal was the flashpoint. But Arteta saw his chance to ratchet things up. To turn defeat into a galvanising personal grievance.
As soon as he gathered his players in the away dressing room, Arteta let rip. Not at them, but at the ref and VAR. And the injustice of it all. He even had one of the analysts set up his laptop to show his players replay after replay of Gordon's 'ghost' goal. They'd been wronged. Robbed.
And as the club - with a formal statement - backed him later in the week, the players knew this wasn't the first time.
This wasn't off-the-cuff. Arteta knew what he wanted to say. He had it planned. And all well before the final whistle. Defeat in the Cup at West Ham. In the League at Newcastle. His team were wobbling. But the manager found a way to turn that setback into a positive.
But Arteta knows VAR isn't his team's biggest problem. That's easy. It's Gabriel Jesus and his absence. Whether it's with his knees or hamstrings, Arsenal are a weaker outfit without the Brazilian leading the line.
Eddie Nketiah can hit a home treble against Sheffield United. Sevilla, fresh from a coaching change, can be comfortably dismissed. But at the cauldron that is St James' Park. Where that extra bit of quality will make the difference, it is there when the senior striker's absence was felt.
Arsenal and Arteta need an injury-free Gabriel Jesus. The 26 year-old has already missed nine games this term. And you just wonder where the team would be with their No9 fully-fit and boasting a full preseason.
This is the problem Arteta is facing. In terms of the attack, the support cast is good, but none are at the level of Gabriel Jesus. Individually. Even collectively. No player lifts Arsenal and knits Arteta's system together like Gabriel Jesus. And it's an issue that has stood out since pre-Christmas last year.
One defeat in 11 and three points off the summit, it isn't exactly the time to panic. Arsenal are well placed. But the perception, the sense, is there. They're just not quite 'at it'. The performances have been good, but not great. It's all a bit disjointed. Hard-won. Things just haven't yet clicked.
Was Arteta wrong to rage against VAR and the match officials as he did? Of course, at least for this column. We're firmly in the Ange Postecoglou camp. Indeed, we'd even go further than the Aussie and scrap the goalline technology too.
But as an exercise in distraction. In uniting his players. Arteta played this perfectly. No-one was talking about the Gunners' form this week. Two defeats on the trot should be driving headlines for a team of Arsenal's ambitions. But it barely warranted a mention. Though it was, as Rice hinted on Wednesday night, front of mind for the players.
"We wanted to get three points on the board, that was key," said the midfielder. "After the upset in the cup and on the weekend, a club like Arsenal can't be losing three games in a row. The manager made that clear."
Arteta knows... These stumbles this season have nothing to do with VAR.
