Arsenal: Vieira slammed for "silly challenge" in Burnley victory

The Gunners had to play the final minutes of their match against Burnley with ten men.

Former Arsenal star Perry Groves has criticized Fabio Vieira for his unnecessary red card against Burnley on Saturday.

Arsenal were already 2-1 ahead when Mikel Arteta decided to bring in Vieira for Kai Havertz in the 59th minute. The Gunners doubled their lead through Oleksandr Zinchenko‘s goal minutes later, securing the three points.

However, a reckless challenge from Vieira on Josh Brownhill convinced the referee to send him off with a straight red card in the 74th minute. The knee-high tackle didn’t prevent Arsenal’s victory but still tarnished what was set to be an easy win.

“It’s exactly the right decision from Michael Oliver, it’s a really, really silly challenge from Fabio Vieira,” Groves told talkSPORT.

He added: “I think he’s having an identity crisis; he thinks he’s Patrick Vieira. Because it was a ridiculously shocking challenge.

“It was reckless, it’s dangerous and Michael Oliver had no option whatsoever but to send him off. He didn’t even need VAR!”

Vieira will miss Arsenal’s first league game after the international break against Brentford on November 25. The Gunners will then return to the Champions League to host Lens four days later.