Walcott shares White 'copying' his celebration after Arsenal beat Tottenham
Former Arsenal star Theo Walcott has shared an image of Ben White appearing to copy his iconic stretcher celebration against fierce rivals Tottenham.
White started at right-back as the Gunners claimed a dominant win over Tottenham in Sunday's North London derby. An own-goal from Hugo Lloris and Martin Odegaard's long-range strike secured all three points for Mikel Arteta's men.
The 25-year-old successfully kept Spurs star Heung-min Son quiet to help his side move eight points clear at the top of the Premier League table. And to celebrate the impressive victory, White appeared to take inspiration from former Gunners attacker Walcott.
White was pictured holding up two fingers on his right hand and forming a zero sign with his left hand. That gesture reflected the 2-0 scoreline that Arsenal won by in Sunday's derby clash.
It was a gesture that fans immediately spotted was eerily similar to one that Walcott made nine years ago. Back in January 2014, Walcott featured for the Gunners as they defeated Tottenham in the third round of the FA Cup.
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On that day at the Emirates Stadium, goals from Santi Cazolra and Tomas Rosicky were enough to secure their passage into the fourth round. Walcott was stretched off minutes before the end after getting his studs caught in the turf.
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White's celebration was reminiscent of Theo Walcott's against Tottenham in January 2014The injury happened right in front of the visiting Tottenham fans, with Walcott sitting up while he held up two fingers and a closed fist to reflect the scoreline. The attacker, who is now at Southampton, quickly spotted the similarity with White's celebration.
The Englishman retweeted a post that showed images of his and White's gestures side by side. White escaped the reaction Walcott had faced, with the former Arsenal star getting pelted by coins, though he later insisted he had no regrets.
"I loved doing the gesture, it was a bit of fun. But the stretcher guys are both Spurs fans and they actually said 'can you stop now?' and I did stop the gesture eventually. I’ll buy them cupcakes or something or say sorry!" Walcott later said.
Walcott will continue to watch on as Arsenal seek to win their first Premier League title for 19 years. Though they are now eight points clear of Manchester City, boss Arteta is hoping to keep his side fully focused.
"This has a big emotional attachment because there is a big history between the two clubs and it means so much for us and our people to win this game. That is a great position to be in and let's enjoy every single moment and let's keep focusing," Arteta said.
"The only thing we can do is try to play better and focus on the things we're doing well. The team is out there, and we don't see this in a grey way but there are a lot of things to improve.
"We know that, we are conscious of that, and we'll keep working the same way. I don't want to do too many calculations. It's how we are going to prepare for the game against Man United now, to get another three points and play well and deserve to win."
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