Gary Lineker and Micah Richards ‘loved’ something Arteta did after Arsenal win

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Arsenal got back to winning ways in the Premier League with a 3-1 victory over Burnley on Saturday, and Mikel Arteta was in good spirits.

His post-match press conference was a far cry from his furious rant following last week’s defeat to Newcastle, despite Fabio Vieira receiving a red card towards the game’s closing stages.

Arteta hilariously praised the referee and VAR decisions, following his outburst after some contentious decisions in the Newcastle loss, and this has now earned praise from pundits Gary Lineker and Micah Richards.

Lineker and Richards praise Arteta

Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, the pair pointed out that Arteta had repeated his comments praising the referees in all of his post-match media duties.

“I don’t know whether you saw it yesterday and the interviews after the game, Mikel Arteta was wanting to make the point, and he said it in every interview – because when we are doing Match Of The Day we have lots of screens – and we see every interview they do, whether it’s to the press or various TV channels and stuff.

“He said the same thing to every person, ‘Are you not going to ask me about VAR because they were really good today?’ It’s so much easier when you have won!” Lineker stated.

“I loved it,” Richards replied.

“I liked it as well. It was sort of a nod that he had probably gone a bit strong in the past week,” Lineker pointed out.

Arteta’s VAR fury

Arteta could have no complaints after the Fabio Vieira red card, and given that Arsenal won, there was no need for another furious rant against the refereeing standards in the Premier League.

His comments and the subsequent statement of support from Arsenal last week caused a media storm, and the red card may have provided enough fuel for another fire.

Although Arteta’s insistence on repeating his praise for the officials has gone down well, it may not necessarily mean he regrets anything he said in his anger after the Newcastle game, and it may not be too long before another controversial decision goes against his side and draws more fury.