Mikel Arteta shares what the fourth official told him on the side line during Arsenal’s win at Watford yesterday

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Mikel Arteta got as close as he might ever get to playing again yesterday as he provided something of a pre-assist for Arsenal’s third goal against Watford.

The Gunners boss was seen racing from his technical area to hand the ball to Bukayo Saka for a quick throw-in early on in the second half. From there, a swift flurry of Arsenal passes led to Gabriel Martinelli firing in from the edge of the box and leave Arteta more than happy with his contribution.

Of course, it’s not something we see every week in the Premier League. Managers often get animated, but rarely do they get so involved in an actual goal. Arteta, then, can be happy with his little contribution.

However, there have been some question marks over whether it should have been allowed. And Arteta confirmed after the game that the fourth official had actually hinted that Arteta might have bent the rules a bit.

“The fourth referee said, ‘Mikel, you shouldn’t be allowed to do that’. It just came out. I am living the game there, trying to help as much as possible, I saw an advantage there to be taken and I did it,” Arteta told the BBC.

TBR’s View: Arteta Fully Invested In Arsenal

And that’s all this was really. It was a show of emotion and passion from a manager who just wants his team to win at all costs at the moment.

The away ball boys are often told to slow the game down anyway. So all Arteta did here was use his initiative to ensure his Arsenal side got an advantage. Sure, it might not go down well if it’s a regular occurrence. But as a one off, you have to applaud the Gunners boss really.