Roy Keane has told Gary Neville that he has ‘no issue’ with Arsenal’s celebrations against Tottenham after the ex-Manchester United right-back raised concerns.
The celebration police seem to be out in force again!
Every time a team, in this case, Arsenal, celebrate a goal, whether it’s the opening goal in the north London derby or the last-minute winner against Bournemouth last season, questions seem to be raised about how they celebrate.
That’s what Gary Neville threw at Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal following the north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur, as he told The Overlap.
The home side opened the scoring through Bukayo Saka, whose shot deflected off Cristian Romero and into the back of the net.
Tottenham equalised just before the break, before Bukayo Saka scored from the penalty spot in the second half and Gary Neville raised questions about how the team celebrated that goal, with Roy Keane’s response.
Gary Neville and Roy Keane on Arsenal celebrating
“On Sunday, I am commentating on the game,” said Neville. “It’s an awkward one. I don’t like this idea of over-celebrating because you are suggesting that players shouldn’t show passion when they score a goal. It’s a north London derby and Saka scores the penalty. They celebrate in the corner. Peter Drury is doing the commentary and I am thinking ‘God, they have been there for 30 seconds to a minute now’.
“There is no-one grabbing them. I think this game is in danger. Declan Rice has gone off. I am thinking ‘there is a bit of a problem there’. Before the second goal goes in, I am saying ‘they need to get back and focus here’. Is there an element of Arsenal that there is too much passion and emotion? Not enough cold thinking, and actually, the leadership just isn’t quite right there in terms of the maturity and experience?”
Keane responded: “It was a big call, Gary. It was a big call – That’s why you switch back on. You train all week to score a goal. You don’t celebrate like that when you get a corner. It’s about scoring a goal. It’s a derby game. So, I have no issue even if they stayed there for five minutes.”
Celebrate all you want, Arsenal
Passion is passion. It’s pretty ridiculous that pundits today seem to have an issue or raise concerns over how a team celebrates.
It’s understandable that there are a lot of eyes on the game today because you are getting analysed from absolutely every angle.
But this is a prime example of how pundits are just over-analysing stuff. Let players celebrate a goal however they want, if they want to throw a firework display, stand emotionless or mimic an opposition player’s celebration, then let them do it!
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