Ban has changed my touchline behaviour – Arsenal boss Arteta

Mikel Arteta has said he believes his ban against Aston Villa in December may have triggered a change in his touchline behaviour.

The Arsenal boss was forced to watch from the stands after receiving three yellow cards in the early part of the season as John McGinn scored the only goal at Villa Park.

Officials were instructed at the beginning of the campaign by referees chief Howard Webb to clamp down on dissent and aggressive behaviour on the touchline and only two Premier League managers have avoided any sort of punishment since – Luton Town boss Rob Edwards and Oliver Glasner, who took charge of Crystal Palace in February.

Arteta was booked for a fourth time against Brighton in December and in Arsenal’s Champions League round-of-16 home game against Porto.

But the Spaniard has generally cut a calmer figure in recent weeks and ahead of Villa’s visit to Emirates Stadium on Sunday, Arteta was asked if the Villa punishment had altered his touchline demeanour. “It’s possible that I think like that,” he said.

“Can I control it sometimes when I am there? Sometimes it’s been better. Across the season if you look at all the managers who have had bans it’s not a coincidence that they’ve all been there.

“It was an experience. I deserved it. I had to go upstairs because I got the yellow cards. I experienced it. I didn’t like it so hopefully it doesn’t happen again.

“The rule came up and it was very aggressive. Every time we were talking it was like ‘oh you’re going to get a yellow card’. I think now it’s a bit smoother as well. There’s a bit more understanding in both ways of what we expect from each other, that’s it.”

Arsenal’s Champions League hopes hang in the balance after drawing the first leg of their quarterfinal with Bayern Munich 2-2 on Tuesday and face the return game in Munich next week.

Before then, Villa will test Arsenal’s ability to hang on to top spot in the league and Arteta said: “[The pressure] is just a motivation. They’ve lived it already and they are super excited about what we’re doing.

“The way the team is performing and winning matches. We know the challenge ahead of us and how good we have to be to win it. We’re going to try.”