Mikel Arteta sends apology to Liam Rosenior after Chelsea boss complained of Arsenal's 'lack of respect' during Carabao Cup tie

Rosenior was left incandescent with rage during the pre-match warm-ups before Chelsea's clash with Arsenal in the Carabao Cup. The Blues boss was filmed shouting "stay in your half. Stay in your f*****g half. F*****g stay there." The cameras did not catch who Rosenior was directing his verbal tirade at, but he clarified after the game that he was annoyed with the Gunners' coaches. 

He said: "It wasn't the players. I'm respectful. When you warm up, you have your half, the other team have their half. I've never asked my team or my coaches to encroach on the opposition's territory. In that moment, I didn't think it was right where they were operating.

"They were affecting my lads' warm-up and my staff's warm-up. So, I asked them, maybe not politely, to make sure they stay in their half. I'm not here to have mind games. It's just what I think is right and respectful. Hopefully, we respect that and other teams do too. 

"There are certain etiquettes in football. I always try to be as respectful as possible. I always want to win. I've never asked my coaches. I don't have an issue with anyone at Arsenal Football Club. A fantastic manager, Mikel Arteta, I've got so much respect for. It was just in that moment, I didn't think that respect was shown to my team."

Speaking ahead of Arsenal's clash with Sunderland this weekend, Arteta issued an apology, telling reporters: "I don't know, it's his opinion and obviously we respect everybody.

"At any point, if one of the staff members went through that, we apologise and that's it. It's very common in football, especially with the keepers because they have to kick long balls and all that. So nothing there to comment."

Arteta also confirmed that Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber are both nearing a return, while Bukayo Saka should be available soon, although it is unclear if he will be able to play this weekend. 

Looking for smarter football bets? Get expert previews, data-driven predictions & winning insights with GOAL Tips on Telegram. Join our growing community now!

Arsenal are currently six points ahead of second-placed Manchester City at the top of the league before their clash with an impressive Sunderland side, who are eighth. The two sides played out a 2-2 draw at the Stadium of Light earlier this season.

Arteta added: "As always, we've tried to prepare every weekend. Every opponent is different and bring very difficult challenges and we need to face them and we've been doing that for a lot of months now.

"And that's the thing that we have to continue to do and play with our hunger and commitment every single game. Because if we do that, we have a big chance to win our games."

Arteta has also hit back at critics of his style of play, saying earlier this week: "I hear completely the opposite: all around Europe that we are the most exciting team in Europe - the most goals, the most clean sheets. Maybe I have different sources."

When pressed on why there was such a stark disparity between domestic pundits and foreign admirers, Arteta offered a tongue-in-cheek response, asking for the contact details of his detractors. "I don't know which people. You send me the names, the addresses and the email and maybe we can talk, but I can't give you a massive book of all the people."

Arsenal play Sunderland, while Chelsea face rock-bottom Wolves as Rosenior looks to bounce back from the Carabao Cup semi-final defeat. The Blues, of course, are fifth in the table and sit 13 points behind the Gunners at the summit.