Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown has defended Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta over his touchline behaviour, questioning whether officials are being unnecessarily strict when punishing him for leaving his technical area.
Arteta has attracted attention for his animated reactions during matches, with his latest booking against Everton renewing debate over the treatment of Premier League managers.
The Spaniard received a yellow card during Arsenal’s 2-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday after protesting a refereeing decision.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Keown argued that managers should be allowed greater freedom to express themselves during matches without automatically facing disciplinary action.
He believes the intensity of top-level football makes it unreasonable to expect coaches to remain constantly aware of the boundaries surrounding their technical areas.
“He’s getting a yellow card for stepping out of the technical area when, if anyone understands football and the passion of football, especially when the action’s there, then managers aren’t thinking about exactly where the line is,” Keown said.
“They’re thinking about getting the instructions across, reacting to whatever’s happened.”
The former England international suggested that Arteta becomes so absorbed in proceedings that reminders from the fourth official can momentarily catch him by surprise.
Keown also expressed sympathy with the Arsenal boss over what he considers excessive punishment for relatively minor infringements.
“I can see why he kind of feels a bit hard done by, that he’s almost being picked on by getting another yellow card,” he added. “He is very animated and he just steps out. But I just don’t even agree with them in the first place.”
The discussion comes as Arsenal continue their strong start to the campaign, having moved level with Manchester City on 21 points following Saturday’s victory.
Arteta’s side have won seven of their opening eight Premier League fixtures, maintaining their title challenge despite several injury setbacks.
Keown stressed that Arteta is hardly alone in displaying considerable emotion on the touchline, pointing to Aston Villa manager Unai Emery as another example.
He argued that many managers and coaching staff regularly leave their designated areas during matches, making consistent enforcement an important consideration.
The former Arsenal centre-back also questioned whether such incidents warrant the level of disciplinary attention they receive.
“I don’t really think it’s that much of an egregious infraction of the laws that you need to clamp down on it,” he said.
Keown’s comments underline the debate surrounding touchline discipline, with Arteta’s passionate approach continuing to attract scrutiny despite Arsenal’s impressive results.