da bwin： The Gunners have once again been criticised for going over the top after a big victory – and it's getting boring now
da aposte e ganhe： When Leandro Trossard put the gloss on Arsenal's 3-1 victory over Liverpool on Sunday, darting through on goal and firing a deflected shot through the bewildered Alisson Becker's legs, Mikel Arteta exploded with joy, bouncing up and down his technical area like a man possessed. And the celebrations were only getting started, too.
As soon as the full-time whistle sounded, the entire Emirates – aside from the emptying away end, of course – belted out a joint rendition of club anthem North London Forever, which the stadium DJ soon blended into the ABBA's classic, Voulez Vous. The players were more than happy to soak in the carnival atmosphere.
The outstanding Jorginho bounced arm and arm with midfield partner Declan Rice, Arteta mimicked Jurgen Klopp's trademark fist-pump celebration and Martin Odegaard stole Stuart MacFarlane's camera before snapping the long-time club photographer in front of the fans behind the goal.
For anyone of an Arsenal persuasion, it was close to heaven. Indeed, Arteta was in a jubilant mood post-match, hailing the atmosphere as the best the team had generated all season. However, not everyone was delighted to see the Gunners celebrating with such vigour.
GettyCelebration Police are on the case!
Say what you want about Richard Keys, but when it comes to policing expressions of joy in football, his work rate is unmatched. The anchor wasted little time sticking the boot into Arteta and Co when the post-game analysis kicked off.
It all began when ex-Liverpool midfielder and pundit Jason McAteer joked about Arsenal's passionate celebrations, asking if the Gunners "had just won the league?" After this, 'Keysie' was up and away. "Well, you see Jason, I have hesitated to this point, but now you've got me."
He briefly paused with ill-deserved gravitas before continuing: "Look, I understand today is worth celebrating – they've beaten one of the big teams and it's critical, the title race has opened up as a result. But I do wish Arteta would, first of all, behave a lot better than he does. He's returned to behaving the way he was persistently last year before the rules were changed to check him and keep him in his dugout."
He later added: "And I just wish he would have a little more class about him when Liverpool handed him their second goal. The third one, off he goes again, you've had two presents given to you. I understand. I am checking my criticism, but if you stick one in the top corner to go 2-1 up, OK. But that's a gift. Have a little bit of dignity."
AdvertisementGettyKeys not the only one
This is not the first time Keys has got all hot and bothered about Arteta. Last season, he made it his personal mission to enforce an impeccable moral code for touchline conduct, repeatedly berating the Arsenal boss for veering out of his technical area and celebrating with too much emotion.
Sunday felt slightly different, though, with criticism of Arteta extending beyond television studios in Qatar. When Odegaard was enjoying some fun with the camera, pundit Jamie Carragher grumbled: "Just get down the tunnel, you've won a game, it's three points. You've been brilliant, you're back in the title race. Get down the tunnel. I'm serious, honestly."
Carragher also doubled down on social media after his television duties ended, channelling his inner Neil Warnock by warning Odegaard: "By all means enjoy it, but enjoy it by being disciplined!"
He wasn't happy with journalist Jan Aage Fjortoft hitting back at him either, telling the Norwegian: "Jan it’s a joke about a Neil Warnock quote, FFS! I like the way you’ve tagged them all in including the camera man so you get the retweets & likes you want. I thought the camera stuff was a bit OTT, a bit like your claim that Mo Salah would leave Liverpool!"
'The negativity towards my manager, man'
Ian Wright is never one to keep his opinions to himself, especially when it comes to Arsenal. And after listening to Keys, Carragher and Gary Neville all pass judgement on the post-match scenes at the Emirates, he issued an impassioned defence of the Gunners on X.
"The negativity towards my manager, man. What has he done apart from celebrating a goal?" he asked in a video. "Celebrating his team, celebrating a team that is trying to beat these juggernauts, Liverpool and Man City.
"And because he’s celebrating? Because Martin Odegaard is taking a picture with Stuart the photographer? A lifelong Gunner. This man has been supporting Arsenal since he was what five, or something ridiculous like that… Why is everybody trying to kill the joy? Don’t kill the joy.
"There’s so much of the season to go. As soon as Arsenal do anything, they just come under a pile-on. It’s like we can’t have any joy.
"It’s like England at a World Cup or a Euros, as soon as England start doing well everyone is jumping on them. It’s the same thing that happens with Arsenal. Don’t let them spoil the joy. Keep doing what you’re doing. Whatever is going to be will be. Do not kill the joy."
Getty ImagesFootball is emotional – get over it
Wright knows more than most about the "joy"' of football. Getting into the professional game at 21 following a challenging upbringing and a brief stint in prison, the striker played like a man eternally grateful for being given a late shot at the big time, celebrating every goal like an excitable toddler.
And while football has changed beyond recognition since Wright's heyday, the increased financial stakes mustn't make us lose sight of why every player, manager and fan was seduced by the beautiful game to start with. At its best, football has an unparalleled ability to bring happiness.
Arsenal were the ones riding high on Sunday, and the curmudgeons questioning the players' right to celebrate with their match-going fans – all of whom pay a lot of money to watch them every week – was rather tiresome. It is also indicative of modern football's undesirable tendency to over-analyse the banal.
Instead of deep dives into the subtleties of Jorginho's Player-of-the-Match performance, or asking how Kai Havertz's deployment as a striker got the best out of Gabriel Martinelli, the majority of airtime and column inches in the wake of the game have instead been filled with endless chatter about what the Gunners' reaction to beating Liverpool 'tells us' about the title race.