Former Premier League referee Graham Scott has identified Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta as the most difficult person to deal with on the touchline. Scott, who officiated in the Premier League for a decade before retiring in 2025, said the Spaniard 'does push all the limits all of the time' and described him as 'hard work'.
Arteta's recent booking and looming ban
Last month, Arteta received his second yellow card of the season during Arsenal's 2-0 win over Everton. After the match, he said he had a dossier of other managers committing similar offences that have gone unpunished. The Arsenal manager now faces a one-match touchline ban if he receives a third yellow card.
Asked who was the worst manager to deal with on the touchline, Scott told The Athletic: 'Well, the trite answer is all of them when they're losing.'
'He does get away with rather too much'
'The honest answer, I'm afraid, I know whatever I say at this point just gets me pelters but it is Arteta. He is the hardest work.'
'He really does push all the limits all of the time. I don't mind that in many ways, he's trying to get a competitive advantage for his team. That's fine. That's part of his job. And of course, he's entitled to do it, and it's for us to place them, but he does make your life extremely difficult.'
'He's out of his box [technical area] all the time. I watched him recently in the game against Everton and every time Everton had the ball anywhere near the touchline on his side, he was like joining in the press, his toes are on the touchline.'
Officials 'need to be a bit tighter'
'As fourth official, it's a nightmare, because if you step forward and do anything about it, you're being pedantic, being petty. He does get away with rather too much. The officials do need to be a bit tighter. And I was one of them who let him do that. I'm not going to deny that. But he was just hard work. Really, really hard work all the time in a way that others tended to be hard work some of the time.'
Scott contrasted Arteta with some of his calmer counterparts, adding: 'And let's not pretend the others are all, by comparison, angelic. Some were very controlled. Graham Potter would be an example. Didn't have anything to do with you, just very, very calm, quiet. But then, of course, he got some stick at times for not showing that he cared enough. So I guess managers can't win either way.'
