Mikel Arteta is unlikely to change his approach to post-match interviews despite facing an FA charge following his rant at Newcastle earlier this month.
Arteta labelled the decision to award Anthony Gordon’s goal in the Gunners’ 1-0 defeat at St James’ Park “an absolute disgrace” as part of a diatribe against the quality of officiating in the Premier League.
His actions drew criticism from former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein, who felt Arteta had damaged the image of the club, but the Spaniard hinted he would continue to speak from the heart after matches.
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Speaking ahead of Saturday’s trip to Brentford, he said: “I think it’s good that we [the clubs and PGMOL] are communicating.
“We all want to improve the game – referees, managers, sporting directors, players… To have that we have to have freedom of speech, respectfully and in a constructive way. If you don’t, you don’t get better.
“It’s good that they [the PGMOL] are talking to the media, it brings clarity.
“You have to be yourself, as a leader you have to be authentic, you cannot be someone you’re not. This is who I am. We have to talk to make things better. We have meetings and I talk in a really straightforward way about certain opinions I have.
“We have our own responsibilities and we have to stand for our actions.”
Aaron Ramsdale is expected to return in goal at Brentford with David Raya unable to play against his parent club.
The England international will hope to grasp his chance to impress but Arteta insists there is no added expectation.
He added: “My job is to try and help people in the very best possible way everyday to make him better and give them the best possible chance to fulfil the potential in their career and get to the highest possible position.
“There is no expectation with any player.”
