James Lawton in the Indie looks at Vieira’s behaviour last weekend:
‘It could well be that Arsène Wenger is at his wits' end as he attempts to reanimate Arsenal. Certainly, he looked to be so at Anfield on Sunday, which is one reason why he should maybe call a halt in ransacking his Merlin's cave of football sorcery. Perhaps he should consider a few rather more basic moves.
‘One of the most fundamental, and the suspicion here is that it could be the needed master-stroke, would be to get his most influential player, Patrick Vieira, to stop cheating. Yes, cheating. Helpfully, Wenger claims to be something of an expert in the matter. However, having pilloried Manchester United's Ruud van Nistelrooy publicly for his alleged crimes in this department, he was discouragingly quiet about the appalling transgression of his captain in Sunday's defeat.
‘Now if the Football Association really wants to get a grip on discipline, it will throw aside the absurd regulation that retrospective action based on video can only be taken if the referee has not seen an incident. Wiley clearly saw it, but didn't act upon it.
‘If Wenger wants to do his job, he will not merely be thankful that Vieira escaped the consequences of his wretched attempted deceit. He will say that such behaviour speaks of an inherent rottenness in the culprit's competitive spirit. Yes, we know Vieira has been a warrior figure in the growth of Arsenal but warriors, like apples, can go bad and in the process they can spoil the whole barrel.
‘Wenger, the self-appointed scourge of cheats, should cover his bets. He should tell all of his players - and remind himself - there is only one way for a great team to reannounce themselves. It is by resolving to produce the best of themselves. Cheating in Vieira's fashion at Anfield is, of course, quite the opposite of that.’