Fabio Vieira branded 'braindead' after needless Arsenal red card during Burnley game
Arsenal fans berated Fabio Vieira for his red card during Saturday's win over Burnley, with some criticising the Portugal international for his 'braindead' antics
Premier League victory came at a cost for Arsenal on Saturday as Fabio Vieira saw red late on against Burnley.
Mikel Arteta's side got back to winning ways in domestic competition after back-to-back defeats to West Ham and Newcastle in the Carabao Cup and league, respectively. Leandro Trossard filled in as a makeshift frontman and opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time, with William Saliba and Oleksandr Zinchenko each bagging to round off a conclusive win.
However, Vieira's needless dismissal in the 83rd minute gave Vincent Kompany's side a sight at a comeback following a foul on scorer Josh Brownhill. Both players went in to challenge for a ball in the air, only for Vieira to be shown a straight red after catching the Burnley man with his studs.
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And Gunners supporters weren't pleased with the substitute's kick out at a time when Arsenal were in cruise control. The Portugal international could have few arguments with Michael Oliver's decision, which leaves him unavailable at a time when his club can ill afford more absences.
"The f*** is Fabio Vieira playing at? F*****g braindead," wrote one irate fan in response to the dismissal. Another dubbed the playmaker 'stupid' while singing off the same hymn sheet: "Zero brain."
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"Fabio Vieira has got about four brain cells," added a third critic as the social media masses turned on the midfielder. However, some noted there were plenty of home fans at the Emirates Stadium who clapped Vieira off as he departed the pitch.
That being said, the majority of the online reaction towards Vieira's mistimed challenge was negative. And ESPN writer Gabriele Marcotti wasn't alone in noting it was 'not smart' given Arsenal already have plenty of players missing.
Arteta is already making do without Gabriel Jesus, Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey and Emile Smith Rowe. However, the upcoming international break will yield some valuable time for those players to make their way back to full fitness.
Regardless of his condition, however, Vieira is one player who won't be featuring in the Gunners' upcoming fixtures. Arsenal travel to Brentford in their next game on November 25, and unless the club is successful with an appeal, he'll also sit out December clashes against Wolves and Luton.