07 March 2023 , 08:39
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Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has admitted even he was celebrating after Arsenal's dramatic comeback against Bournemouth on Saturday.
Manchester City put pressure on the Gunners with victory over Newcastle in Saturday's early kick-off, and it looked as though their lead at the top would be cut to two points as Bournemouth opened up a two-goal lead in north London. However, after goals from Thomas Partey and Ben White levelled things up, Reiss Nelson scored a dramatic winner in the seventh minute of added time.
The result leaves Arsenal five points clear, with the top two only having 12 games left to play. While there is still a long way left to go, Carragher - who never finished higher than second in the competition - encouraged Arsenal's wild celebrations despite some backlash against Mikel Arteta and his team.
"I was in the car, and I was celebrating," Carragher said on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football. He pre-empted the "fun police" questioning the extent of Arsenal's on-pitch celebrations, and compared the reaction to that shown by Manchester United when a similar late goal from Steve Bruce helped them win their first Premier League title under Sir Alex Ferguson.
"Go for it, embrace it," he continued. "That will be one of those moments that... if Arsenal go on and win the league, that moment will be remembered forever and he [Reiss Nelson] will be an Arsenal legend for that moment. There's always huge moments.
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"You talk about is it a good thing or a bad thing - who's still famous for Manchester United winning the first Premier League title? Steve Bruce, those two goals against Sheffield Wednesday, Brian Kidd on the pitch, Alex Ferguson.
"They're still shown out as legendary moments. That moment will be remembered forever and we'll be watching it back in years to come if Arsenal can go on and win this title."
Did Arsenal's celebrations go too far? Have your say in the comments section
Reiss Nelson's late winner sparked wild Arsenal celebrations (AP)Arsenal haven't won a Premier League title since 2003-04, while Manchester City - their closest challengers - are pushing for a third successive crown.
"If Man City score in the last minute and win a game, we say 'great mentality', but because it's Arsenal we're saying 'they're choking' and 'they've got to score in the last minute because they're not playing well enough'," Carragher added. "But that narrative will change as soon as they win, if they win the title we'll be saying something different next season.
"But a big thing that you should give Arsenal credit for is, I think when [Gabriel] Jesus got injured they were five points clear of Manchester City. How long's he been injured? Two months? Three months?
"They're still five points clear, so you've got to give them massive credit for that because there was a lot of questions asked, and he's about to come back and he was an absolute revelation in those early months."