Alan Brazil has admitted that he isn’t a massive admirer of Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta for his ‘antics’ on the touchline.
The Spaniard is a popular figure among Arsenal supporters right now following a 1-0 victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Thursday night.
The Gunners had to contend with being a man short for the final 20 minutes after losing Gabriel Martinelli to a red card.
However, the Emirates Stadium outfit held on to their one-goal lead despite wave upon wave of Wolves attack.
Arteta introduced Eddie Nketiah for Alexandre Lacazette with nine minutes remaining and television cameras caught the Arsenal boss lightly shoving his 22-year-old striker shortly before bringing him on.
It was potentially an attempt by Arteta to kill time by delaying the substitution, taking Nketiah out of the fourth official’s line of sight.
Here is what Brazil said on talkSPORT this morning.
He told talkSPORT: “He’s not my favourite. I don’t like his antics on the touchline. Who came on, the sub? He sort of threw him out of the way! Get out the way! Nketiah. Do you remember? I thought, ‘What are you doing?’. He’s a whinger.”
Arsenal supporters on Twitter also spotted Arteta physically nudging Nketiah on the touchline.
No malice
There was zero malice or ill intention on Arteta’s part in the Nketiah incident.
The Arsenal manager was simply extremely stressed at the time and reacting in the moment.
As a result of Thursday’s victory, the Gunners are now only one point behind fourth-placed West Ham United – and with two games in hand.
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