Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has stood by his scathing criticism of English football's referees, insisting it is his "duty" to demand higher standards.
Arteta divided opinion after blasting officials following Arsenal's 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United, in which Anthony Gordon's winning goal was awarded following a multitude of VAR checks.
Questions over whether the ball had gone out of play were asked, while calls for a foul from Joelinton on Gabriel Magalhaes were ignored, sparking Arteta's frustrations. Arsenal later released a statement supporting Arteta's comments.
Having had a few days to cool off, Arteta was asked whether he stood by his rant during Tuesday's press conference ahead of the Champions League clash with Sevilla, and the Gunners boss did not back down.
"It is my duty to stand in front of you, to stand in front of the cameras and give a very clear and honest assessment of what happens in the game," he said. "This is what I did, reflect very openly how I felt that the team played and how they game was conditioned by this result with the decisions that were made.
"It’s the duty, my duty is defending my players, supporting my players, supporting my club, defending my people in the best possible way and this is what I’m going to do time after time. I do it the way I feel with the evidence and being as clear as possible and I always do it. When we play brilliantly, to say that, when we have lost, to take my responsibility, the first one me to do it. It’s the way that I am and I have to defend my club."
He added: "When it was that clear and I had all the evidence for the words that I used in the media, it’s because I feel strongly about them. One thing is what I say externally, but internally to my players it’s about how can we play better, how can we be more dominant, how we can do the game the way we want to give no chance to the opponent.
"One thing is my duty towards you guys and then my duty as a coach to do what we have to do. This is exactly what I’ve done, nothing special, nothing different, and I would do it and the club would do it again and again until this is right. Until this is right, we have to be better on the pitch and win more football games. That’s it."
A large part of the criticism of Arteta's comments stems from his previous stance on referee mistakes. Following October's meeting between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, which was decided by an enormous VAR error, Arteta called for sympathy towards the officials.
"They are trying to make the best decisions," the Arsenal boss claimed last month. "We need to give support and understand that mistakes happen, and that that pressure is very difficult to manage."
Asked about his change in tone, Arteta said: "I stand for the same words that mistakes are part of football in any other way, and we are here to constructively improve the game in everything that we can, and this is what we have been doing.
"As a club, me the individual with my duty as a manager in the managers’ meeting, to give our opinion, our voices and to raise it in the most constructive ways together and [create] a better game, that’s all. That’s the only thing we are looking at collectively to achieve for everybody."
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This article was originally published on 90min as Mikel Arteta doubles down on scathing criticism of referees.
