Arsene Wenger has given his verdict on Arsenal’s celebrations after the win over Atletico Madrid and they are at odds with Wayne Rooney’s views
Arsene Wenger has defended Arsenal’s Champions League celebrations, declaring them ‘deserved’ and ‘normal’ following Wayne Rooney’s scathing assessment.
The England icon criticised Mikel Arteta and his squad, suggesting the exuberant scenes at full-time were excessive. Bukayo Saka netted the crucial goal shortly before the interval to secure a 2-1 aggregate victory and book a final against either Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest.
The Gunners rejoiced enthusiastically after the final whistle, prompting disapproval from Rooney, who was present at the Emirates as a pundit for Prime Video. The Manchester United legend said: “They deserve to be in this position but they haven’t won it yet. I think the celebrations are a little bit too much. Celebrate when you win.”
Legendary former Arsenal boss Wenger rejected that view, maintaining that his former side were fully entitled to savour the occasion. Speaking on beIN SPORTS’ coverage of the match, the Frenchman said: “They celebrate well tonight, which is normal, but you want to focus already on the final and the next games.
FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE! Latest Gunners news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page
“The celebration is deserved and happiness is normal – absolutely normal – but the next step is to go to the final and win in.”
Wenger felt the Gunners deserved to go through. He said: “I think Arsenal wanted it a bit more than Atleti and they were more decisive in the duels.
“We said before the game that to go to the final, they needed to be strong defensively and they didn’t concede a goal tonight. They played a team who for 45 minutes absolutely needed to score a goal and they didn’t give them a chance.
“I believe it shows how strong Arsenal are defensively and how disciplined they are, as well as the limitations of Atletico, who were not good enough in the final third.
“In the end, it’s a well-deserved win for Arsenal, there’s no doubt they were the better team over the two legs.”
After Manchester City were held at Everton on Monday, putting the title race back in Arsenal’s hands, Arteta’s squad are now just four games away from achieving a remarkable double and delivering the finest campaign in the club’s 140-year history.
Arteta said: “It was an incredible night. We made history again together and I cannot be happier and prouder for everybody that’s involved in this football club.
“The supporters were with us for every ball. They made it special and unique, and I have never felt it like that in this stadium.
“We knew how much it meant to everybody, we put everything on the line, the boys did an incredible job and after 20 years, and the second time in our history, we are back in the Champions League final.”
Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package
Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.
Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.
