Jean-Clair Todibo apologises after Mikel Arteta incident in West Ham vs Arsenal
Jean Clair-Todibo of West Ham United was involved in an incident with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta on Sunday.
The defender has not been in the finest form, but he started for Nuno Espirito Santo‘s side in their crucial clash on 10 May.
Arteta was looking for his side to increase their title credentials while the Hammers were looking to get out of the relegation zone.
The Irons star hit the ball at Arteta, but it was not on purpose, and he apologised for what happened 18 minutes into the London Stadium game.
West Ham needs to make it a feisty atmosphere, but there was no animosity after that incident involving the Frenchman.
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How did Todibo respond to Arteta incident in West Ham vs Arsenal?
West Ham needs to win, to put pressure on Tottenham, in the race to avoid the drop.
Todibo was trying to get the ball to Aaron Wan-Bissaka quickly after it had gone out, but he ended up hitting Arteta instead.
BBC reporter Alex Howell claimed on the live blog that there was no ill-nature and he said sorry afterwards.
He said: “Todibo was trying to get the ball to Wan-Bissaka after it had gone out of play, but he accidentally hit Mikel Arteta in the back.
“It’s all good-natured, though, and the centre back apologises to the Gunners boss.”
Why Todibo reaction was wrong
The Hammers need to embrace dark tactics if they are to get anything from the champions elect.
They desperately need the three points, just as much as the Gunners, as they must be willing to use whatever they can to stop Arteta’s side.
They can’t be weak and allow them too much respect, as the former Barcelona man showed the opposition manager after the incident.
| First-half stats | West Ham | Arsenal |
| Possession | 33% | 67% |
| Shots | 3 | 10 |
| Accurate passes | 86 | 216 |
| Fouls committed | 7 | 2 |
They need to foul, obstruct, and annoy the North London side as much as possible, in the hopes that the frustration eventually boils over and leads to a mistake, which they can capitalise from.
That is the only way that they will come away with anything positive from the game, as on paper, the Emirates Stadium side are capable of smashing a couple home in the second half of the clash.
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