Arsenal Manager Apologizes After Warm-Up Dispute
Arsenal’s manager, Mikel Arteta, has said he’s sorry to Chelsea’s head coach, Liam Rosenior, after a disagreement about what happened before their recent game. It seems there was a misunderstanding about where Arsenal players were warming up before the match.
During the warm-up before Tuesday’s Carabao Cup match, TV cameras spotted Rosenior in a heated discussion with the Arsenal team on the field. He felt that Arsenal’s players had crossed over into Chelsea’s side of the pitch, which he saw as disrespectful.
After the game, Rosenior explained, “There are unwritten rules in football.” He added, “I have no problem with anyone at Arsenal. It was just that in that moment, I felt my team wasn’t being shown the respect it deserved.”
Arsenal won the game 1-0, thanks to a late goal, which meant they won 4-2 overall and would be going to the Carabao Cup final.
Arteta responded to the incident by saying that his team didn’t mean to be disrespectful. However, he did offer an apology during a press conference before Arsenal’s next game against Sunderland.
When asked about Rosenior’s comments, Arteta said, “I don’t know; that’s his opinion, and we respect everyone.”
He added, “If any of our staff members did something wrong, we apologize.”
Arteta also tried to explain why his players might have gone over the halfway line, saying, “It’s very common in football. For example, goalkeepers need space to practice long kicks.”
Looking ahead to the game against Sunderland, Arteta gave a positive update on the health of two of his players, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard. He suggested that they might be back on the field soon and confirmed that Jurrien Timber would be available.
Arteta said, “Bukayo Saka’s hip is much better, and we hope he’ll be back with us very soon.”
He also said, “Martin is getting better. He should be back in a matter of days. Jurrien is fine and ready for the weekend.”
However, young player Max Dowman is still recovering from an ankle injury and won’t be back in training for a few weeks.
