Referee friction, team news truth - Five key takeaways from Mikel Arteta Arsenal press conference

Arsenal return to Premier League action on Saturday when they make the long trip north to Newcastle United.

Both Mikel Arteta and Eddie Howe's men will be in a buoyant mood heading into the fixture after enjoying victories in the Carabao Cup in midweek. While Newcastle got their own back on Chelsea, the Gunners secured a comfortable passage to the quarter-finals with a 3-0 win at Preston North End.

This weekend's fixture holds bad memories for Arteta having lost 1-0 at St James' Park in controversial circumstances. Arteta was livid after Anthony Gordon's goal was given despite him and Arsenal claiming that the ball had gone out of play in the build-up.

This led to an open letter to the PGMOL which went down badly among critics. As such, it was brought up once again during Arteta's press conference and is one of our five key takeaways from the conversation with journalists.

Referee friction

Arteta cut a mellow figure in his press conference when asked about the standard of refereeing in the Premier League. "They are certainly trying their best," he rather magnanimously admitted.

In reality, the friction is perhaps still there with referees, particularly after three red cards for his players this season. Notably though, Arteta has not been booked yet which he credited to his ambition of staying on the touchline for as long as possible this season.

READ MORE: Every word Arteta said pre-Newcastle

READ MORE: Arsenal will soon add four players to their strongest XI

It still feels a fractious relationship between Arsenal and the referees but Arteta appears to have learnt that little is gained from publicly criticising the officials.

Title race maturity

The Gunners are certainly handling themselves like a team who has had their fair share of title races these days. In their first attempt at the Premier League under Arteta, Arsenal crumbled leading the pack while last season they seemed to benefit from not being the favourites albeit they still ended up a runners-up.

This season, the gap to Manchester City is already five points but Arteta seems pretty relaxed. He chose not to dwell on the gap too much which is the right approach considering his team have already proven they can more than compete with not just City but Liverpool too this campaign.

Team news truth

A lot has been said about Arteta withholding information in regards to injury news but on Friday he seemed very open and honest. He could have easily played down the Gabriel Magalhaes update but instead chose to share that he is on the verge of being passed fit for Newcastle.

Similarly, there was little hiding his thoughts on Ben White's fitness. While he did not rule him out, explaining he was unable to train this week is enough to hazard a good guess that he is not fit for Newcastle.

Cagey Amorim response

Surprisingly, having come up against Amorim twice as a coach in the Europa League, in which the new Manchester United got the better of him, Arteta was cagey when asked for his thoughts on the Premier League's soon-to-be newest boss. "I cannot talk about these kind of situations," was a rather strange response especially when he spoke openly about Erik ten Hag's sacking earlier in the week.

Could we be about to see a fiery touchline rivalry between Amorim and Arteta over the course of their respective tenures?

Nwaneri plan

Ethan Nwaneri was one of the stars in midweek and it was clear how Arteta is looking to find the right balance between protection and experience. The Arsenal boss looks like he will also look to play off his own experience as a teenager break into the professional game to aid the teenager which will be invaluable.

There is also no masking how important he is going to be to Arsenal this season considering injury issues. But like Arteta wisely insisted, he is not wanting to add to the pressure by declaring where he sees Nwaneri getting to in his career.

It is a fine balancing act but one which Arsenal's boss is balancing well at present.

Join the football.london Arsenal WhatsApp channel

Join our Arsenal WhatsApp channel and get all the latest breaking news, opinion, podcasts and in-depth stories from football.london's dedicated Arsenal writers straight to your phone!

By following this free service you will be the first to know the news from the Emirates Stadium as it happens, when it happens.

To join our dedicated Arsenal channel, all you have to do is click this link and you can join thousands of others following our Gunners coverage!

If you're curious, you can check out our privacy policy here.