Mikel Arteta claimed he was waiving to Gabriel Martinelli and not the referee in Arsenal’s victory over Brighton on Saturday as he was shown a yellow card.

The Gunners boss was in the dugout for his side’s table-topping 2-0 win over Roberto de Zerbi’s side at the Emirates.

However, was shown a fourth yellow card of the season by match referee Tim Robinson when he waved his arms on the touchline during one heated moment in the game.

Arteta has now offered reasoning for his actions as he explained he was waving at winger, Gabriel Martinelli and not the referee for who he was disciplined by.

Mikel Arteta was shown a fourth yellow card of the season in Arsenal’s win over Brighton

The Spaniard was booked after waving towards the match referee but has claimed he was waving at Gabriel Martinelli

‘No I was waiving to Martinelli,’ the 41-year-old told beIN SPORTS.

A wry smile at the end of his comments possibly suggests that Arteta was making a joke out of his actions. 

Arteta is joint-second in cautions at Arsenal alongside Gabriel Jesus, with only Kai Havertz and Ben White having been shown more yellow cards (5).

His disciplinary record recently came under risk of further punishment when Arteta attended an independent for an FA charge for his referee rant following Arsenal’s defeat to Newcastle.

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The Arsenal chief was cleared by the resulting panel, with Arteta later claiming part of his comments had been lost in translation.

However, despite working his way into the official’s book, Arteta was still delighted to have claimed another three points that moves them to the top of the Premier League. 

Arsenal moved to the top of the Premier League after beating Brighton 2-0 on Saturday

‘We had 15 shots [in the first half], it was a lot. We had to keep going. We don’t have that accuracy in front of goal,’ Arteta remarked after the game.

‘Incredible performance,’ added Arteta.

‘A joy to watch from the start to the end. The way we did it against this very good team. Even at half-time the scoreline didn’t reflect that.

‘We fully deserved to win the game,’ he added.