Heads up! Referee Michael Oliver takes ball to the face at full-time in Arsenal’s 3-1 win over Burnley in comical moment… and even wins praise from Mikel Arteta despite last week’s rant!
- Michael Oliver was hit in the face by the ball after Arsenal’s 3-1 win over Burnley
- Mikel Arteta praised Oliver’s officiating after the game – despite last week’s rant
- Why we should get excited about Cole Palmer – Listen here to It’s All Coming Up
There’s nothing quite like the feeling of getting smacked in the face by a football – just ask Michael Oliver.
That was the referee’s fate on Saturday afternoon at the end of Arsenal’s 3-1 win over Burnley at the Emirates.
Oliver had just blown the full-time whistle when Clarets defender Jordan Beyer headed the ball and it looped through the air onto his unsuspecting visage.
The ball pinged off Oliver’s head into the atmosphere as he looked startled by the misfortune, but the cameras quickly cut away.
That wasn’t the only surprise of the day, as Mikel Arteta spoke out in praise of VAR after the call to send off Gunners midfielder Fabio Vieira late in the match.
Michael Oliver was hit in the face by the ball at the end of Arsenal’s 3-1 win over Burnley
The ball pinged off Oliver’s head and into the sky (Oliver pictured earlier in the game here)
Despite last week’s rant, Mike Arteta praised the decision to send off midfielder Fabio Vieira
Vieira was sent off late in the game for his dangerous foul on Burnley man Josh Brownhill
Arteta had no complaints after Vieira left Brownhill in pain late on at the Emirates Stadium
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It is only a week since the Spaniard branded the officiating in their 1-0 loss to Newcastle a ‘disgrace’ and ’embarrassing’ after Anthony Gordon’s goal stood following intensive VAR checks.
However, he agreed with the decision to dismiss Vieira after his dangerous challenge on Josh Brownhill, saying: ‘With the red card yes, thank you for asking me, VAR was right.
‘The referee was right. Really good decision. Really positive for Mikel to speak positively about that. Yeah, good decision’.
It marks something of a reconciliation between Arteta and officials after his livid rant following the Newcastle game, during which it took four minutes to review Gordon’s goal.
Then again, he had plenty of reasons to be happy as his side drew level on points with league leaders Manchester City.
Leandro Trossard, William Saliba, and Oleksandr Zinchenko were on the scoresheet to overwhelm Vincent Kompany’s Burnley, who could only manage one goal via Josh Brownhill.
Zinchenko stunned the crowd when he scored a scissor-kick volley to help the north Londers back to winning ways in the league.
Rest assured you wouldn’t have wanted your face in the way of that strike.
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