Leaving the technical area? Arteta has the receipts

Mikel Arteta has been booked for leaving his technical area twice this season

Wandering Premier League managers beware, Mikel Arteta has the receipts.

The Arsenal boss has developed a reputation for straying outside the technical area in recent years but, he claims, he is far from the worst offender.

After receiving his second yellow card of the season for the offence during the Gunners’ victory over Everton on Saturday, Arteta revealed he has a dossier of evidence that proves other Premier League managers are getting off lightly.

“I do have to be careful. They should put sensors there,” he said.

“There are managers who have the record in the league, 36 times in 10 minutes [they] leave the touchline – no yellows.

“I am clipping all of that so I have now a massive storage of images, so if somebody comes to me I can say, ‘I am not in the record yet’. Somebody else has the record so let’s see.

“Then it’s 36 yellow cards in 10 minutes for the managers. I don’t know what we are going to do – let’s see.”

What is Arteta planning to do with this treasure trove of touchline images? Who is the mystery manager holding that surely unbreakable record?

For now we can only speculate, although a BBC Sport study in April 2025 found that of current top-flight bosses, Aston Villa‘s Unai Emery spent the most time outside his technical area. Could he be the culprit?

Until all is revealed, though, Premier League bosses must watch their step – Arteta is watching.

Related topics

More on this story

We watched every Premier League manager – here’s what we found out

Latest Arsenal news, analysis and fan views

Ask about Arsenal – what do you want to know?