Arteta's VAR Charm Offensive

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta surprised many by conducting bizarre VAR interviews and speaking about himself in the third person after Fabio Vieira's red card in the team's 3-1 win over Burnley. Just a week after calling the Premier League's use of video technology "a disgrace," Arteta went out of his way to praise the referee and VAR for their decisions.

Defending VAR

Arteta begged for publicity, stating, "Please ask me about VAR because it was good. I hope I'm on TV saying the referees are so good and I'm completely with them and being very constructive." In a separate interview, he added, "You have to ask me about VAR - it was perfect. Beautiful, the referee and VAR were top. Let's have some humour as well and move forward."

Accepting Vieira's Red Card

Arteta had no complaints about Fabio Vieira's straight red card for a lunge on Josh Brownhill. Speaking about himself in the third person, he said, "Really good decision, really positive from Mikel to speak about that. VAR was right. The referee was right."

Arsenal's Dominant Performance

Arsenal's victory moved them up to second in the Premier League, level on points with leaders Manchester City. Arteta expressed his happiness with the result and the team's dominant performance against a difficult opponent. He stated, "I'm really happy with the result, especially the performance - how dominant we were against a team that is very difficult to dominate. With the amount of situations we generated, I think we fully deserved to win the game."

Frustration for Burnley Boss Vincent Kompany

Burnley boss Vincent Kompany expressed frustration over his team's loss and their inability to defend against set-pieces. He said, "When the second half gets decided on two set-pieces, it leaves a bitter feeling. It's again a reminder about staying sharp and alive on everything."