05 February 2024 , 12:30
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The celebration police are out in force after Arsenal's win over Liverpool, and they're taking names.
Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher and Richard Keys were among those who all claimed that the Gunners might well have been overdoing it after their 3-1 success over the league leaders, with Mikel Arteta sprinting around on the touchline, Martin Odegaard borrowing a photographer's camera and the Emirates Stadium representing something akin to Popworld at closing time.
Is anyone really that bothered though? Should you just be allowed to celebrate however you want? Or did the Gunners overstep the mark? We asked the Mirror Football team for their thoughts.
Jacob Leeks
The suggestions that Arsenal in some way 'overcelebrated' are frankly ridiculous. It was a huge win for the Gunners, who would have been out of the title race without those precious three points. They were well within their rights to celebrate however they liked, especially in front of their own fans. If the shoe was on the other foot and it was Liverpool celebrating a win at Anfield, I sense there would not be the same level of criticism.
Odegaard's moment with the photographer was one that just signals how close the Gunners are to their fans and staff. In a time where players are increasingly criticised for being 'robots', it was a really touching moment. The accusations being levelled at Arteta are also a joke, I can only imagine the relief of everyone connected with the Gunners when Trossard's goal went in and the Spaniard was only releasing that energy.
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Martin Odegaard enjoyed Arsenal's win over Liverpool (Michael Zemanek/REX/Shutterstock)Mike Walters
You can't have it both ways. Celebrating an important win is not illegal - and if you just disappear down the tunnel, the first people to complain are the fans.
What does Jurgen Klopp do every week at Anfield? He walks over to the Kop, beats his chest like that self-flagellating Opus Dei monk in the Da Vinci Code and gives it large ones. No objections, m'lud. What does Eddie Howe do at Newcastle when they win? He convenes a lap of honour and takes the whole team on the equivalent of a Royal walkabout. Next stop kissing babies.
Football is a game of passion and emotion. From Sunderland manager Bob Stokoe racing across Wembley in his raincoat and trilby crown-topper to embrace goalkeeper Jim Montgomery at the 1973 FA Cup final to Sir Alex Ferguson and assistant Brian Kidd's uncontrolled euphoria after a two-goal comeback in added time against Sheffield Wednesday on the title run-in 31 years ago, celebration defines the game.
Did Arsenal overdo it? No - but a word of caution: They have been here before. I seem to remember a dressing room group selfie after a 2-1 win against Leicester in 2016 which appeared to be tipping the title race in their favour... but the Foxes had the last laugh. Leicester defender Robert Huth even revealed that self-congratulatory photo inspired the 5,000-1 no-hopers to complete their fairytale.
Steve Bruce's goal against Sheffield Wednesday in 1993 famously sparked wild celebrations (PA)John Cross
The celebration police need to put a warrant out for their own arrest. There are more inconsistencies in their rap sheet than a weekend of VAR reviews.
Did Arsenal overcelebrate? Don’t be so ridiculous. The Liverpool game was make-or-break for Arsenal’s season. If they’d lost it would have been game over. So no wonder Mikel Arteta ran down the touchline. God knows what Martin Odegaard was doing with a camera in his hand. But it didn’t seem the worst thing in the world. And for once this season, the atmosphere in the stadium was good.
I’ll tell you what’s embarrassing. Back in the days of Wojciech Szczesny sneaking his camera phone onto the bench so he could take a selfie after Arsenal’s win at Tottenham in 2014. They were battling for fourth. Or Newcastle players lining up for a full-on team picture after they won at Sunderland in the FA Cup last month. And what was said? Absolutely nothing. The celebration police went AWOL.
My perception is that Jurgen Klopp fist pumps after every Anfield win. And why not? We need some fun and joy in this all too depressing world. The problem seems simple. We build up these games as blockbusters - and then don’t like it when the winning team celebrates. Where’s the logic in that?
But we’ve also turned pundits into fans and cheerleaders. I don’t want to hear an ex-player refer to the team he is analysing as “we” and “us.” The younger generation might like it - but I don’t. The lines have become blurred. So much so that when I saw Jamie Carragher knocking Arsenal for celebrating that I found myself doing a Google search for the time he celebrated mid-commentary after Mo Salah scored. Er… consistency? And, by the way, I love Carra. I didn’t like myself for Googling it. But I literally squirm when Ian Wright refers to Arsenal as “we” on Match of the Day. If I’m a Spurs fan then I switch over. We’ve all lost the plot.
Did Arsenal 'overcelebrate?' Have your say in the comments section
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Jamie Carragher didn't take kindly to the celebrations (Graham Hunt/ProSports/REX/Shutterstock)Scott Trotter
A massive win over a top team? No, you can't celebrate that... Criticising how a team acts following victory has almost entered into Premier League cliche, and Arsenal usually find themselves at the pointed end of discussions.
While such remarks can often be laughable, there is some sense in managing emotion after 90 minutes on the edge. Always being on the limit of an adrenaline dump is tiring work and over the course of a relentless Premier League season every marginal gain is required, particularly when chasing a team like Manchester City.
At its core, football is about emotion. It's about enjoying big and small moments and how they contrast with times of despair. That is where a connection can be made between players and fans. I can understand the judgement of an over the top reaction to every goal or win. It's no doubt, something I've probably done myself. The criticism of a player for taking a photograph of a club's photographer feels more ludicrous than most celebrations however.
Nathan Ridley
In an era of social-media driven hype, when clubs regularly milk even the most routine results and put their own players on pedestals they're bound to fall from, how can we be mad at them for making a song and dance after such a big win?
There's no line for what's acceptable and what's not, especially when broadcasters are encouraging a full five-minute segment by following you around the pitch like at the Emirates. We even commend players who look visibly devastated after a loss because they're reflecting how we feel on the terraces, so why can't it work the other way?
Mikel Arteta was delighted with his side's success (Michael Zemanek/REX/Shutterstock)The real issue with Arsenal's so-called overcelebrating is that when they get back on the training pitch or start their next game, will they still be riding high on emotion or be back down to Earth, ready to kick on? Some players like to stay laser-focussed, others need that emotional release.
Arsenal's players did nothing extraordinary in my book, nor did Mikel Arteta - who, by the way, is the only man who should be truly concerned about his players causing a scene. In fact, we can all recall how Liverpool reacted to beating Everton in 2018 and it's rightly regarded as an iconic Premier League moment. The celebration police need to stand down.
Darren Lewis
Are we really still doing this? The confected nonsense around Mikel Arteta and Arsenal is nothing short of embarrassing. Other managers can sprint up and down touchlines, fist pump in front of supporters, knee slide out of their technical area onto the pitch and goodness knows what else.
Want me to name names? Okay, I will. Where were the celebration police when Sir Alex Ferguson was dancing on the pitch and Brian Kidd did a knee slide onto it after that infamous win over Sheffield Wednesday on the way to the 1993 title? Where were they when Jurgen Klopp raced onto the pitch to chest bump Alisson after the Merseyside derby in 2018? We all thought Jose Mourinho was a breath of fresh air when he raced down the Old Trafford touchline in 2004 to celebrate a Porto winner in the Champions League against Manchester United.
Jurgen Klopp famously ran onto the pitch when Liverpool beat Everton in 2018 (Getty Images)So what on earth is all this guff? Football is a passionate, at times explosive, animated game in which even the most low maintenance of managers can lose their bits. We know this. We’ve seen it a million times. How is this even a debate over Arteta? He and his players are perfectly entitled to celebrate a win over Liverpool that keeps his side on the right side of those fine, title race margins.
Arsenal had won just two of their previous 23 games against the Reds before Sunday. Most non-Gunners believed Liverpool’s greater firepower would overwhelm the Londoners and follow up on their FA Cup win of last month. Arsenal had won just three of their previous nine in all competitions with talk that Arteta’s decision not to move for Brentford’s Ivan Toney last month could cost his side the title.
So if the Spaniard and his men can’t toast defying the odds and hanging onto the coattails of Manchester City and league leaders Liverpool, when can they?
A cynic would suggest some of the critics are well aware that any debate involving Arsenal, one of the biggest clubs in the world, digitally inflames emotions and, most significantly, drive numbers. The explosion of interest that has had club legends reaching for their instagram lives underscores the point.
Arteta and his players should keep at it. The pressure of this multi-billion pound industry and some of the heavy, serious stuff that surrounds it means we don’t smile often enough. Go for it Gunners. Take more pictures and dream more dreams. Whatever happens, your joy will be the best way to hit back at your critics.
Felix Keith
'Overcelebrating' is a silly thing to get annoyed about. Some Arsenal players sank to their knees at the final whistle on Sunday because they were exhausted and relieved to pick up such a vital win. Martin Odegaard took some photos of the club photographer (and Arsenal supporter) because he was happy and wanted to capture the moment.
Jamie Carragher was guilty of being a sore loser in my opinion. His explanation that he was riffing on a Neil Warnock line is all well and good, but 99 per cent of the viewers on Sky Sports would've been unaware. Mikel Arteta's goal celebration is absolutely understandable. His straying outside of the technical area only seems to wind up Richard Keys, which in itself says a lot.
Football is about winning. But it is also about getting wound up by completely innocuous things that would fly over the head of others, so absolutely fair play to anyone that wants to have their day ruined by Arsenal celebrating a win. I wouldn't try to deny them that. For me personally, it's an over-reaction that distracts from much more interesting things.
Arsenal's players toasted their win (Michael Zemanek/REX/Shutterstock)Simon Bird
Football is about emotion as well as tactics, analysis, physicality, dressing room chemistry and skill. So no, Arsenal did not 'overcelebrate' their win against Liverpool. It was a huge game they needed to win to stay in the title race. If a stadium, including manager Arteta, isn’t allowed to go wild when they achieve a long-prepared-for, much desired victory, when can they?
Staying calm and aloof when winning may look cooler, but it doesn’t stoke momentum or belief. I loved Arteta’s charge up the touchline. It wasn’t fake. It was a release of passion, and a sharing of the moment with fans. It was spontaneous and shows how driven he is to win. Likewise Odegaard and co milking it. Cups and titles and reputations are on the line in these games. So rev up the celebrations when you come out on top, as long as they are not in front of the opposition dugout and ungracious.
Daniel Orme
Sunday’s victory against Liverpool could be a transformative result in the race for the title and Mikel Arteta is well within his rights to celebrate. Football is about enjoying the highs, while also fully feeling the gutting lows that the ‘beautiful game’ has to offer from time to time.
Only in a time of every reaction being scrutinised on social media can a moment of such joy be portrayed as a negative. Yes, some may argue that Arteta may have been wiser to bottle up his wild gesticulations for when the Gunners actually win a trophy but why not now?
Relish every second of a win against a fearsome title rival, make those memories now and then just add to them as and when the title moment potentially comes. After all, Klopp has done very much the same down the years at Liverpool so is unlikely to have a problem with it regardless.
Did Arsenal 'overcelebrate?' Have your say in the comments section
Alan Smith
This was a significant win for Arsenal and they had a right to celebrate passionately. The problem is the fuel that will give their rivals. Until Mikel Arteta steers them to a title, or Champions League, there will remain external questions about their mentality, their ability to stay calm in the most high-pressured moments.
To toast three points, albeit against the league leaders, in early February with such vigour can easily be interpreted as a team too focused on the immediate results rather than the bigger picture of who is jubilant come May. There was nothing wrong with Arteta's run down the touchline - has everyone forgotten Jose Mourinho with Porto at Old Trafford? - and the way he punched the air in front of supporters was an amusing imitation of (or dig at) Jurgen Klopp.
But the sight of Martin Odegaard taking pictures was a jumping the shark moment that opposition players, still in a stronger spot in the table, will use as motivation. Why give other teams such a gift?