Arsenal legend Ian Wright has come to the defence of Mikel Arteta.
Mikel Arteta has come under fire for the level of his celebrations after Arsenal beat Liverpool on Sunday.
This was a huge victory for the north London club, as it reignited their Premier League title push. Had they been beaten by Jurgen Klopp’s league leaders, then the Gunners would have been cast eight points adrift and would have been all but out of the title race.
Instead, with this three points in the bag, Arsenal now find themselves just two points off top spot, with momentum on their side with them having won their last three matches.
Of course, this victory was far from decisive as far as who will ultimately be crowned champions is concerned. There is still a long way to go, with plenty of twists and turns to come, in that particular race.
That being said, it was still a massively important result for Arsenal which the Emirates Stadium faithful were only too happy to celebrate wildly after the final whistle.
The Arsenal players were eager to join in with the carnival atmosphere in the ground, with club captain Martin Odegaard drawing the scorn of Jamie Carragher with his joyful antics.
TV presenter Richard Keys also accused Arteta of lacking “class” and “dignity” due to the exuberance of his own celebrations.
This is not the first time that Arsenal have been criticised for the scale of their celebrations this season.
Ian Wright issues passionate plea for Arsenal to embrace the joy
However, iconic former striker Ian Wright has no time for this kind of disapproval or condemnation.
Speaking on X after the match, Wright made a passionate statement:
“The negativity towards my manager, man. What has he done apart from celebrating the goals, celebrating his team, celebrating a team that is trying to beat these juggernauts, Liverpool and Man City, you know, and because he’s celebrating…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 the pile on. It’s like we can’t have any joy. Don’t let them spoil the joy. Keep doing what you’re doing. Whatever’s going to be, will be. Do not kill the joy. Keep doing what you’re doing.”
“My manager, celebrate with passion like you do because that’s what it’s about, man. People are expecting us to bottle it and lose these games and we’re going through it, we’re getting ourselves through, through injuries and everything. And the hatred is just so intense. Just leave us alone, man. Leave us alone in the joy.”
“Enjoy, Arsenal fans. Enjoy our moments. Because that’s all this game is, moments. And we had one tonight. We beat the great Liverpool, who are top of the league. Up the Gunners.”
Should Mikel Arteta tone down his celebrations?
Win, lose, or draw, Arteta will always cut an animated figure on the touchline, it is simply in his nature. His energy is infectious, too. His team feed off it, and the atmosphere at the Emirates Stadium was never this rapturous prior to his appointment.
Many outside the club may not like it, but Arteta’s style and approach clearly works for Arsenal, as he has made the club genuine title contenders once again and has restored them to the Champions League. Arsenal fans, the players, and Arteta won’t care about the outside noise, and nor should they.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
