Former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein accuses Mikel Arteta of damaging the Gunners’ image after furious VAR rant and insists he would discipline the manager if he was in charge

Former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein has accused Mikel Arteta of damaging the Gunners’ image and insisted he should have punished the manager after his angry VAR tirade.

Arteta went on a testy tirade after his side’s 1-0 defeat to Newcastle, furious at the way VAR handled Anthony Gordon’s winning goal.

The Gunners boss branded VAR ’embarrassing’ and an ‘absolute disgrace’ after they seemingly missed three potential issues in the build-up to the goal.

Arsenal responded by releasing a statement in support of their Spanish manager, but Dein has revealed he would have done things differently.

Dein believed Arteta should have accepted the loss and said the reaction was ‘unnecessary’.

David Dein, who was the club’s vice-chairman between 1983 and 2007, said the tirade damaged the Gunners’ image.

Speaking talkSPORT Dein said: ‘In 101 minutes of football we only had one shot on target, so you can’t really say the team deserved to win. It is what it is,

“There’s a process for how they deal with these things and I think it was a bit unnecessary. I don’t think it has done the club any good.’

Asked if this would have happened during his time at the club, between 1983 and 2007, Dein said: ‘It wouldn’t have happened.

“But we’re in an emotional game and these things happen, I think it’s a shame, and you live and learn.”

The 80-year-old also revealed that he would ‘probably’ have disciplined Arteta, but also said he ‘wouldn’t have wanted to undermine the manager either’.

He said: ‘The manager in the heat of the moment, that’s what he believed in. “I was at Newcastle that game, he felt sad because he felt the decisions were going against him.”