Mikel Arteta’s ominous warning to Newcastle United amid Arsenal’s North London derby anger

Mikel Arteta says Arsenal “can’t wait” to play Newcastle United on Monday night as they look to put their North London derby frustrations behind them.

The Gunners boss cut an extremely agitated figure after the 3-0 loss to bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur, where his anger towards referee Paul Tierney was clear.

Arteta insisted he’d be “suspended for six months” if he aired his views on Tierney’s performance after he awarded a soft penalty to Spurs before sending off Rob Holding just after the half-hour mark.

“If I say what I think I am suspended for six months,” Arteta said. “I don’t know how to lie so I prefer not to say what I think.

“I am not unhappy with my players. I am proud of my players.

“I want the referees to come in front of the camera and explain his decisions. It’s a shame because such a beautiful game was destroyed.”

Mikel Arteta’s ominous warning to Newcastle?

Spurs’ victory moved them to within a point of fourth placed Arsenal as the race for Champions League qualification hots up ahead of the remaining two fixtures.

And going off Arteta’s post-match comments, he relishing the trip to St James’ Park and the opportunity to return to winning ways.

“We can’t wait now to play on Monday,” the Spaniard said. “This is how I feel.

“This game is history for us, now is Newcastle. This is gone, it went out of our hand and we have to accept it.

“Now, we go to Newcastle and be the team you saw right from the beginning in this stadium.

“We lost a football in the conditions we lost them. It’s painful but that pain cannot be sustained because we have another huge match on Monday.”