Arsenal’s Arteta praises referees: Please ask me about VAR،
Mikel Arteta asked reporters for his opinion on those responsible for Arsenal’s 3-1 win over Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday, and said they were “so good”.
“Please ask me about VAR because today was good… I hope I’m on TV saying the referees are so good and I’m completely with them and that I am very constructive,” Arteta said.
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Arsenal midfielder Fabio Vieira was sent off in the 83rd minute against Burnley and Arteta said he agreed with the officials’ decision.
“And with the red card, yes. Thanks for asking me. The VAR was right. The referee was right,” Arteta said in his post-match press conference. “Really good decision. Really positive of Mikel to talk about it… Good decision.”
The Arsenal manager had been criticized for calling the level of refereeing in the Premier League an ‘absolute disgrace’ after Anthony Gordon’s winning goal for Newcastle United against his side last weekend was allowed after three separate VAR controls.
Arsenal also released a statement last weekend saying the club “wholeheartedly” supported Arteta’s criticism of officials following the Newcastle game. The north London club also implored the body of referees (PGMOL) to examine the standards of refereeing.
The 41-year-old could still face charges from the Football Association (FA) for his comments after the Newcastle match, but he was keen to praise officials on Saturday.
The win over Burnley moved Arsenal up to 2nd in the table, ahead of rivals Tottenham who lost to Wolves, and Arteta was keen to emphasize how happy he was with his side’s performance.
“Really happy with the result but especially with the performance after playing 72 hours in the last three games,” Arteta said.
“How we played against Newcastle, how we played against Sevilla, how we played today… How dominant we were against teams. It’s very difficult to dominate the number of situations we have generated. I think we fully decided to win the match.”
Arteta praised the courage of striker Leandro Trossard after he was injured while scoring the game’s opener. The Belgian international’s goal was the 1,000th Arsenal have scored at the Emirates Stadium since it opened in 2006.
“[You must sometimes] Pull your body over the line to score, it’s necessary and he did it and it’s the 1000th goal at the Emirates. It’s a great number,” Arteta said.
“I’m really happy with him. I think any time you ask him to play, whether it’s wide or nine, it flows and he’s a real threat, so I’m really happy with him. “
