Mikel Arteta, who was given a yellow card during Arsenal’s victory over Brighton on Saturday, insisted he was waving to Gabriel Martinelli rather than the referee.

At the Emirates, the Gunners manager was in the dugout for his team’s dominating 2-0 victory over Roberto de Zerbi’s squad.

However, as he waved his arms on the touchline during a tense moment in the game, match referee Tim Robinson gave him his fourth yellow card of the season.

Brighton winger Kaoru Mitoma pulled Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka back, which incited an emotional Arteta in the technical area.

Now that he has given an explanation for his behavior, Arteta says he was waving at Gabriel Martinelli, a winger, rather than the referee, who had punished him.

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

Although the Spaniard claims he was waving to Gabriel Martinelli, he was booked for the gesture toward the match referee.

According to the 41-year-old, “No, I was waiving to Martinelli,” beIN SPORTS said.

Perhaps Arteta was making a comedy out of his actions, as seen by the wry smile he gave at the end of his remarks.

Arteta and Gabriel Jesus are tied for second place at Arsenal in terms of cautions; the only players with more yellow cards (5) are Kai Havertz and Ben White.

Following Arsenal’s loss to Newcastle, Arteta went before an independent for an FA charge, which put his disciplinary record at risk of additional punishment.

The ensuing panel exonerated the Arsenal chief, however Arteta later claimed some of his remarks were mistranslated.

Nevertheless, Arteta was happy to have scored three more points to take them to the top of the Premier League, even though he had managed to get himself into the official’s book.

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.