Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta joked about a fight between players Ben White and Oleksandr Zinchenko after their game on Tuesday. Arteta said they’ve been “sharing wives and everything.” Even though Arsenal won 2-1 against Nottingham Forest, there was tension between White and Zinchenko after the match. They argued and had to be separated by the team’s coach.
Mikel Arteta on Ben White and Oleksandr Zinchenko bust-up
Mikel Arteta didn’t make a big deal out of the argument between Ben White and Oleksandr Zinchenko after Arsenal won against Nottingham Forest. He joked that they’ve been living together and “sharing wives.” The two players argued after the game, and Arteta said he liked the disagreement. He tried to make it sound less serious during his press conference before the upcoming game against Liverpool on Sunday.
“Yeah… they’ve been in the same house the past few days sharing wives and everything! It’s fine, they’re living together now. They’re best mates. You don’t argue with someone if you don’t have a great relationship. That happens because you have the trust and chemistry with somebody to react the way they did,” Arteta said.
Arteta said it’s okay if his players disagree, as long as they talk in a friendly manner.
“I love it. As long as it’s in a respectful way and with the intention to be more demanding as a team and it stays there, I’m very happy with that. Maybe we have a different understanding of what the word fight means. Maybe it was a conversation. A little bit heated and a little bit emotional after the game when you are going 200 beats a minute. It’s normal. Nothing new. I want to see passion. I want to see commitment from my players. I want players who always have desire to be better and in order to do that we have to be demanding with each other. Otherwise it is Disneyland,” he added.
