Arteta praises 'perfect' VAR as ten- Arsenal beat Burnley

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta complimented a job well done by the match officials despite having a man sent off during their 3-1 win over Burnley on Saturday.

Leandro Trossard opened the scoring just before halftime and seemingly hurt himself in the process. But the Belgian winger, who was performing the role of a false nine here, was able to continue on.

The Clarets equalised through Josh Brownhill nine minutes into the second half, but the sides were not level for long as William Saliba headed home from a corner moments later.

Oleksandr Zinchenko sealed the win for the Gunners in the 74th minute with a spectacular scissor kick which looped over goalkeeper James Trafford and into the net.

“Very happy with the performance,” Arteta told BBC Sport. “The way the team dominated the game. We fully deserved to win the game.

“Especially against organised teams, we’re provoking, they were defending really deep. We generated a lot today and looked a threat every time.”

The Spaniard was especially pleased to see the Gunners bounce back so soon after the equaliser. “Momentum was perfect,” he said. “The team reacted straight away, the timing was perfect.

“We are the team who generate the most [set-piece goals]. If a team want to defend 20 metres, that has to be an asset.”

Fabio Vieira was sent off just 25 minutes after replacing Kai Havertz for an horrendous challenge on Brownhill, which has earned him a three-match suspension. But Arteta claimed he had no problem with the officiating on the day following his tirade against the the match officials after his side’s defeat to Newcastle last weekend.

“The refereeing was perfect,” he said. “Don’t just ask me when [things go against Arsenal]. VAR was top.”

Arteta showered even more praise on the video assistant referee, Michael Salisbury, to the point of insincerity when speaking to talkSPORT.

“Please ask me about VAR because today it was good,” he said. “I hope that I’m on TV saying the referees are so good and I’m completely with them and being very constructive.”

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