Arsenal left it late to secure a dramatic 4-3 victory over Luton Town on Tuesday to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League as Mikel Arteta was left delighted on the touchline.
Declan Rice rose highest in the 97th minute to head home the winning goal and the Englishman set a record in the process.
Arsenal became the first team in the history of the competition to win five games in a calendar year thanks to goals scored in the 90th minute or later.
Indeed, the Gunners showed tremendous spirit and character to come from behind at Kenilworth Road, sparking scenes of jubilation in the away end.
However, those scenes spilt onto the pitch as Mikel Arteta was adjudged to have taken his celebrations too far by referee Samuel Barrott.
He was given his third yellow card of the season which means he won’t be in the dugout for their clash against Aston Villa on Saturday, however, the Spaniard won’t let it stop him from showing passion on the touchline.
Mikel Arteta will continue to show emotion after touchline ban
In the pressured position of management, moments – like the one at Kenilworth Road – deserve to be excessively celebrated and Arteta claims a ban won’t prevent him from savouring such moments in the future.
He said: “I would like to be with my players because we work closely every single day to achieve what we want, which is to win the games and when you get those moments in sport you should be able to do that,” he said.
“I understand as well that there are certain boundaries and you have to respect that you are at an away ground but if I was given the chance I would be there jumping.”
This isn’t the first time that Arteta has got lost in the heat of the moment. In November, he labelled the video assistant referee’s decision to allow Newcastle’s goal an “embarrassment” and a “disgrace”.
Subsequently, Arteta was charged by the FA for those comments and could face a further ban.
Was Arteta right to excessively celebrate Declan Rice’s winner?
Come the end of the season, that goal could prove to be the difference between Arsenal winning the title or finishing second.
Therefore, it is hard to argue against Arteta excessively celebrating such an important moment in the match and it’s great to see him show such raw emotion on the touchline.
For managers, players and fans, it is a seemingly impossible task to not show any emotion after your team has scored the winning goal in the last minute of added time.
And it almost certainly won’t be the last time this season that the Spanish tactician goes overboard with his celebrations.
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