Mikel Arteta has suggested that he had no problem with the full-time confrontation between Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba after Arsenal beat Leicester City, insisting that he loves the fact that they were still unhappy after a win – in comments reported by Football London.
The Gunners, of course, have maintained their spot at the top of the Premier League table. A Gabriel Martinelli goal ensured that they beat the Foxes ahead of the rest of the weekend’s action.
But there was an interesting moment at full-time. Gabriel and Saliba seemed to get into an argument that resulted in some pushing between the pair.
Arteta reacts to Saliba and Gabriel scuffle
You would think that they would be delighted after helping Arsenal overcome another hurdle – and keep a clean sheet in the process. But it seems that they were not best pleased with each other.
Of course, it is hard to not pick up on the incident. Everything appears to be running smoothly for Arsenal right now. So it is a surprise to see the two centre-backs fall out in that manner.
However, Arteta was almost pleased to see the two defenders unhappy off the back of another important victory.
“Yeah, I don’t want robots, I want players with feeling, with passion that they demand each other, but at the end, they have that chemistry and those two certainly they have that chemistry on and off the field and I love that even when we’re winning they want us to do better,” he said, as reported by Football London.
It would have been easy for a lot of the Arsenal players to be delighted with simply taking part in a title race. This is not a familiar position for some of the younger players at this stage of their careers.
But complacency could then creep in. And that could be the most dangerous attitude with Manchester City lurking.
The reactions of Gabriel and Saliba at full-time were not those of complacent players. They want more from their side. And that is why Arteta will be so delighted that they are not getting carried away with another victory.
