Mikel Arteta booked after furious Unai Emery clash as Aston Villa boss makes feelings clear
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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was punished for his Saturday-night clash with Aston Villa manager Unai Emery. Arteta, who replaced Emery in the Arsenal dugout just over five years ago, disagreed with his fellow Spanish over a throw-in midway through the first half of the two teams' Premier League fixture. The pair got into a verbal spat as Emery told Arteta to get back inside his technical area, a frequent criticism over the Arsenal boss.
Referee Chris Kavanagh then came over to the touchline, with fourth official John Busby having had a close eye on the incident. Kavanagh proceeded to show Arteta a yellow card, his first of the Premier League season. The clash took place just five minutes before Arsenal took a first-half lead through Gabriel Martinelli. Goal-line technology was needed after Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez attempted to claw the ball out following his initial save.
Arsenal were desperate for all three points after title rivals Liverpool had left it late to win at Brentford. Twelve miles away from the Emirates, Darwin Nunez scored two injury-time goals and snatched victory. The gap between the teams was increased to seven points, each having played the same amount of games. Arsenal were without star defender William Saliba against Villa, forcing midfielder Thomas Partey to drop back into the rearguard alongside Gabriel Magalhaes.
Villa, who lost Amadou Onana to injury after 37 minutes, had a golden chance to take the lead when Partey gave the ball away cheaply and allowed Ollie Watkins to latch onto it. Unfortunately for the visitors, Watkins' effort ballooned over the crossbar and the England international was soon punished.
