Mikel Arteta told to 'come together' as ex-Prem referee slams 'unacceptable' Arsenal head coach

Mikel Arteta has been told to 'pull it together' after the Arsenal head coach suggested his side should have been handed two penalties against Newcastle.

The Gunners were held to a goalless draw against Newcastle United at the Emirates on Tuesday night.

Arsenal were far from their best as they struggled to break down a resolute Newcastle side.

The result leaves Arsenal eight points clear of Man City at the top of the Premier League.

But Pep Guardiola's side are one game short and will come within five points of Arsenal if they beat Chelsea on Thursday night.

Arteta said he was 'proud' of his players after the match, but he took aim at the match officials.

He feels his team should have been awarded two penalties as he thought Gabriel was fouled by Dan Burn and also for a handball by Jacob Murphy in the penalty area.

"[I am] Extremely proud of my players," Arteta told Sky Sports after the game.

"The way we played the game, the way we controlled the game and we missed the last third. We had so many situations to finish them better and then we had two outrageous penalties.

"It's not about who was stronger, we had two penalties.

"I'm not talking about the referee, I'm talking about what I saw and it was two outrageous penalties."

Arteta is often quite animated on the touchline and he was even more so in the Newcastle United draw.

Former Premier League referee Keith Hackett was less than impressed with Arteta's actions. He believes the Arsenal manager's actions were 'totally unacceptable'.

“Completely unacceptable behaviour. Take control and start doing it the Arsenal way,” Hackett wrote on Twitter.

"Disappointing that we didn't show him a rouge and send him to the director's box."

Richard Keys was of a similar opinion as he called Arteta "awkward".

"Seriously - when is someone going to take over Mikel Arteta?" Keys requested on Twitter.

"He's embarrassing. Totally out of control during games."

The second penalty incident took place in stoppage time and Newcastle boss Eddie Howe admitted it would have been a 'travesty' for them if a kick had been awarded.

Howe thinks the officials were right not to award a penalty.

"Well obviously at this point in the game you're thinking please no, the guys have given so much to the game," Howe said.

"It would have been a travesty for us. I didn't think it was a penalty just because of the proximity but you never know, but I'm delighted. With me and Mikel everything is fine."< /p>

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