Arteta has fostered an intense competitive spirit within his team that has served them well in the Premier League.
However, they have also been reduced to ten men in vital games this season against Brighton and Manchester City.
“For passing the ball,” Arteta responded when told that his players should not kick the ball away and get yellow cards.
“Just leave the ball, don't touch the ball. We play without he ball.”
“Well, we had to play the game that we had to play,” he added.
“The first 10, 15 minutes, we couldn’t with 11 vs 11. Then we got much better. Then we were thrown in a very different context and did what every team does.
“They played 30 seconds with 10 men. Look what they did for 30 seconds. It’s normal what they did. We had to do it in a different way.”