FOOTBALL
By Piyush Wankhede
Posted on February 25, 2026 7:30 pm | Updated on February 25, 2026 8:50 am
Mikel Arteta
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta showed clear annoyance in the game against Tottenham Football Club, ending 4-1. This got interrupted two times because referees couldn’t communicate through their gear. Those stoppages sparked chatter across the Premier League game, even pulling a smirk and a comment on penalties from Arteta himself about,” who’s going to get this fine?“.
🎙️Troy Deeney sur Mikel Arteta (via BBC Sports):
«C’était une semaine cruciale pour lui. Après la victoire de City, il y avait une grande pression sur Arsenal avant le North London Derby, même si Tottenham était une équipe en difficulté.
Arsenal a su gérer cette pression avec… pic.twitter.com/FhPexBt1Q9
— Arsenal (France) 🇨🇵 (@Arsenal_France) February 24, 2026
Technology Delay- Mikel Arteta Frustrated!
Midway through what turned into a key win for Arsenal in their push for the trophy, the game stopped twice because the referees gear failed. Without warning, everything paused early on when young assistant lost contact with main official Peter. In this case, his headset cut out because of a dead power unit. More than five minutes bled away before signals linked back up. Sudden silence between officials disrupted rhythm, yet action eventually started again.
Out of nowhere, trouble struck again right after halftime, causing tension through the stands at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Not this time due to VAR reviews which is the usual suspect lately but because referees simply couldn’t talk properly among themselves. Without clear signals passing between them, play had to freeze, waiting on fixes before anything else could happen.
Usually cool-headed, Arteta broke form when talking about how interruptions disrupted play. Once the match ended, he joked that while Arsenal gets punished for slow exits from the locker room, referees should face penalties too. Since so much time passed without stopping the clock. “We’re always hit with big fines if we take too long leaving,” he pointed out. “I told them – someone must pay up now, right. That delay ran six, seven, maybe even nine minutes.” He added, “Looks like we’ve earned one ourselves this time.”
Not far into his remarks came a mix of annoyance and playful sarcasm, showing just how irritating the stoppages felt. In this case, particularly during such a high-profile game. Even though Arsenal eventually secured a clear victory, the tech failures nearly stole attention from moments meant to highlight their success.
Title Race Tightens
Even with tech glitches messing things up, everyone still talked about Arsenal’s strong 4–1 victory. In this case, it was a performance that lifted spirits after bad results and kept them leading the league. Eberechi Eze opened the scoring, then doubled it. Meanwhile, soon after Viktor Gyokeres followed with two of his own, showing how sharp they’ve become under Mikel Arteta. That kind of firepower revealed both depth and smart adjustments on the pitch. While systems failed behind the scenes, the team stayed focused ahead of tough challengers such as Manchester City. However, Right now staying on top isn’t just luck – it’s coming through week after week.
Tottenham’s big defeat made their league position painfully obvious. As a result, it remains a question how far they still must go just to escape the drop zone. True, timing issues raised some curious glances. Still, what unfolded during play settled things clearly enough.
Conclusion
That moment Mikel Arteta shook his head after the delay said more than words could about how tech glitches stir nerves behind the scenes. His joke later, mentioning fines, wasn’t really funny – it was irritation dressed up in sarcasm, born from broken rhythm during a high-stakes game. Still, nobody dwelled long on signals dropping when Arsenal stormed through with a commanding result fueling their championship hopes. The flaws in communication tools lingered in conversation but didn’t shape what mattered most by full time.
Jokes aside, but this win gave a lot of confidence to the team. Also, this helps them to hope for glory this season. However, there are still a lot of matches left and Mikel Arteta would like his team to focus on that. It will be interesting to see how this goes. What’s Next for Arsenal? Share your opinion in the comments below.
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