Mikel Arteta believes that his previous absence from the touchline could prove beneficial ahead of this weekend’s visit to high-flying Aston Villa.
After picking up a third booking of the season in the aftermath of our dramatic 4-3 win against Luton Town on Tuesday, Mikel will be forced to watch our game at Villa Park from the stands. It is the second time during his tenure that Arteta’s presence will be missing from the dugout after he missed thegame against Manchester City on New Year’s Day in 2022 through Covid, the experience of which he hopes will benefit us on the weekend.
When asked if he thought his players would miss him being at close quarters, he said: “Hopefully they will play better, they will be more positive, and I can influence them with my positive mind! We have very experienced coaches; Albert [Stuivenberg], Carlos [Cuesta], and Nico [Jover] will be there next to them, and we’ve done it in the past from home so let’s do it now.
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“At least I have a little experience with that, and now it’s going to be the second time, but I’m going to be much closer which I think is positive.”
Mikel was disappointed that he was penalised for sharing his joy with his coaching staff in the aftermath of Declan Rice’s late winner at Kenilworth Road, and while he admits that technically he did break the rules, he would have preferred the circumstances to be taken into account.