Alan Shearer has now found a new way to criticise Arsenal celebrations after West Ham

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Alan Shearer has now criticised Declan Rice for the manner in which the Arsenal man celebrated his goal against West Ham United.

Declan Rice scored a spectacular long-range strike for Arsenal against his former club West Ham United on Sunday afternoon.

This goal rounded-off the scoring and confirmed the Hammers’ humiliation, as they were beaten by a 6-0 scoreline at the London Stadium. This result was Arsenal’s biggest ever away win in the Premier League.

Rice did not celebrate his goal. Despite having been booed and jeered by a vocal section of the West Ham supporters throughout the game, the 25-year-old merely tapped his chest and held up his hands in a respectful, calming motion, having just seen his shot rocket into the top corner from around 30 yards out.

Mikel Arteta’s side have come under fire for the nature of their celebrations this season. Arsenal were criticised for over-celebrating their win against Luton Town earlier on in the campaign. After their landmark recent win over Liverpool, Arteta himself was attacked for his celebrations, whilst Jamie Carragher took issue with Martin Odegaard’s exuberant antics.

Why Declan Rice did not celebrate against West Ham

Now, former Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer has taken aim at Rice. However, rather than bearing a grudge against the Gunners’ enthusiastic celebrations, the pundit has questioned Rice’s decision not to celebrate at all. 

Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, Shearer said, “when I saw it I was thinking ‘come on’. Look, I know what West Ham means to him but I’m not really one for not celebrating goals. You work all week to score goals.”

“Everyone knows what West Ham means to him and all that so I get it, but if it was me, I’d have been away celebrating.”

It does seem like Arsenal can’t really win when it comes to the scale of their celebrations. Equally, had Rice wheeled away in delight at having scored against West Ham, it likely would not have gone down overly well with the London Stadium faithful.

As a club, West Ham are still clearly very dear to the midfielder’s heart. He spent seven seasons on their books as a first team player, having come through their academy system. He captained the Hammers, and led them to an historic Europa Conference League triumph in his final season. Many West Ham fans still have nothing but respect for the 48-cap England international, and he clearly has huge respect for the club.