Mikel Arteta mocked Simon Hooper’s hand gestures on the touchline before Arsenal’s late winner (Premier League Productions)
Mikel Arteta was caught mocking referee Simon Hooper in the closing stages of Arsenal’s 4-2 win over Aston Villa on Saturday.
The Gunners moved back to the top of the Premier League as they left it late to snatch a last-gasp victory at Villa Park.
Arsenal were trailing by the break as goals from Ollie Watkins and Philippe Coutinho either side of Bukayo Saka’s equaliser put Villa in front.
However, Oleksandr Zinchenko pulled Arsenal level in the 61st minute before Jorginho’s strike rebounded off the bar and then the head of Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez to give Arteta’s side the lead in the third minute of injury time.
Gabriel Martinelli then wrapped up Arsenal’s win as the Gunners countered from a Villa corner and with Martinez out of his goal the Brazilian winger was given a simple finish into an empty net.
However, with the score at 2-2, emotions appeared to get the better of Arteta on the touchline as he berated referee Hooper for ordering a free-kick retake due to a moving ball.
After Hooper blew his whistle and gestured that the ball was moving, the camera cut to Arteta who mocked the referee’s hand signal on the touchline.
The Arsenal manager has already come under fire this season for repeatedly moving out of his technical area and getting too close to the pitch.
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Meanwhile, the win at Villa Park has put Arsenal three points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.
City will pull level on points if they beat Nottingham Forest on Saturday but Arsenal will have a game in hand.
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Arteta was furious.
