At this point, Michael Owen has spoken.
Following Newcastle United’s victory over Arsenal, our old friend commented on the controversy surrounding Mikel Arteta’s embarrassing remarks following his team’s loss. Then, astonishingly, Arsenal released an official statement (see below) endorsing their manager’s desperate diversionary tactics after his team failed to pose a single real threat to Nick Pope’s goal.
A few of the slavish and indolent journalists and pundits were content to merely reiterate the terrible statements made by Arteta and Arsenal, without highlighting the truly shameful nature of their actions.
While others were willing to criticize Mikel Arteta and Arsenal for their incredibly despicable remarks and accusations.
Michael Owen has now had his say.
Our old mate weighing into the debate following Newcastle United winning against Arsenal, Mikel Arteta’s embarrassing comments after his team’s defeat, then unbelievably, Arsenal releasing an official statement (see below) backing up their manager’s desperate diversionary tactics after his side failed to present a single serious threat to Nick Pope’s goal.
Some of the lazy slavish journalists and pundits were happy to simply repeat Arteta and Arsenal’s embarrassing words, failing to point out how embarrassing their behaviour was.
Whilst others were prepared to call out Arsenal and Mikel Arteta for their truly shameful claims / words.
So which side of the fence is Michael Owen on?
Michael Owen via his personal Twitter account:
“Today’s Newcastle United vs. Arsenal match was fantastic to witness.
“Two elite teams facing off.
The only “embarrassing” and “disgraceful” thing about it, in his words, was Arteta’s actions.
“A frequent occurrence that causes more damage to the game than a bad choice.”The fact that his team is now complaining about the refereeing quality in a statement is unfortunate and completely unprofessional for a team of Arsenal’s caliber.
I have criticized Michael Owen on numerous occasions for his previous remarks, particularly in regards to Newcastle United.
But even he was unable to miss this clear goal, and he truly captured everything rather well.
It is Mikel Arteta and Arsenal who are the only embarrassing characters in this debate and they’re showing a total lack of class.
Arsenal official statement – 5 November 2023:
The Arsenal Football Club fully agrees with Mikel Arteta’s post-match remarks following Saturday night’s more egregious VAR and refereeing mishaps.
We also want to thank our players and the out-of-town supporters for an outstanding effort and performance at St. James’ Park.
With the greatest players, managers, and fans in the world, the Premier League is the greatest league in the world, and they all deserve better. PGMOL must immediately address the officiating standard and concentrate on taking action that frees us all from looking back and making excuses and attempts at justification.
We applaud Chief Refereeing Officer Howard Webb’s continued efforts and would be happy to collaborate with him to meet the elite officiating standards that our league requires.
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