Declan Rice reveals how team feels about Mikel Arteta’s touchline antics

Declan Rice reveals that the Arsenal players “love” Mikel Arteta’s touchline behaviour following the criticism he received for his rant after the defeat to Newcastle.

Following Arsenal’s controversial defeat at St. James’ Park Arteta spoke out and lambasted VAR and its use. This brought out contrasting opinions from fans and pundits alike with some criticising his actions and some supporting them.

Declan Rice reveals how team feels about Mikel Arteta’s touchline antics

Arteta is also known for his wild celebrations, reactions and behaviour during games. When asked about his opinion on Arteta’s sideline actions, Declan Rice said before the win over Burnley (via 90min): “We love it. I think you see how passionate he is. He sometimes gets criticised for how he is on the sidelines, but he is living the game through us.

“He’s so energetic and the way he speaks, he’s like a teacher the way he is in the changing room with us and that really fires us up for the game and I think that’s what he’s really good at.”

Since he arrived in 2019, Mikel Arteta has dramatically changed the atmosphere around Arsenal football club and has majorly improved the team. The Spanish manager made it a mission to get Arsenal back to their very best.

It was evident that he loved the club and wanted to see them winning and competing at the highest level. His fondness for Arsenal can be majorly credited to Arsene Wenger.

Speaking in an interview with the Arsenal official website, Arteta said: “I’m so grateful to have played for Arsène at this club in my career. He chose me to be one of his players and selected me to be the captain of the club and that’s something I will never forget.”

Wenger left a huge impact and his legacy will live on for ages to come. Arteta has admitted to implementing Wenger’s characteristics and values in his own management style.

“I learned so much from him and if I had to pick one of his many great values, it is how loyal he was and how much he defended the club, its players and football in general,” Arteta added.

“The passion he has for the game is just phenomenal and you could see that. He really wanted to respect the game and he wanted it to be played in a certain way. Also, the way he always put the club in front of any personal interest at all times is something that I have tried to learn from him.”

“The way he defended the club, the way he presented himself, the way he was loyal to the players and his staff is something that I really took from him. He is an example for me,” Arteta admitted.

As previously mentioned, however, while the players and some fans may love it, many strongly oppose his antics. Recently, Arsenal legend Malcolm Macdonald spoke out against Arteta.

Macdonald said: “I couldn’t believe it when instead of trying to calm him down at games the Arsenal hierarchy actually backed him with that statement, supporting him on the VAR issue.”

“I was surprised because that is not the Arsenal I and many others have known over the years. Standards always came first before anything else at Arsenal even if it meant to the detriment of the club, that they might lose out on something. You had to maintain standards at all times.”

While I do agree that maybe sometimes Arteta goes overboard with his reactions (he’s set to receive a touchline ban for his latest antics), I think his outburst following the Newcastle game was completely justified. The controversial use of VAR in clarifying the goal scored by Anthony Gordon cost Arsenal at least a point. But it’s not only Arsenal who have been subjected to such officiating mistakes.

The use of VAR is becoming a major concern. This is not what you would expect from the ‘best’ league in the world. Other than that, Arteta’s reaction is simply a reflection of his passion for the club.

Like the players, I also enjoy seeing Arteta reacting similarly to how us fans do. It affirms my faith in the manager and shows that he truly desires to lead the club to glory. However, he must walk the thin line between being professional on the sidelines and being a passionate fan in order to avoid repercussions.