Richard Keys blasted Mikel Arteta’s celebrations after Arsenal’s 3-1 victory against Liverpool.
Arsenal defeated Liverpool 3-1 on Sunday at the Emirates Stadium, bringing them within two points of the Premier League leadership.
Bukayo Saka scored early on, but the hosts gave Liverpool a way back into the game after a defensive mix-up on the stroke of half-time resulted in an own goal from Gabriel Magalhaes.
The Gunners restored the lead, however, when Gabriel Martinelli passed into an empty net following a big error by Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker.
Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard clinched the win, handing Liverpool their first Premier League defeat in 16 games.
After blowing the title race wide open, there were wild celebrations after the final whistle.
However, beIN Sports anchor Keys criticized Arteta’s touchline behavior after the game, claiming that Arsenal just “knicked it”.
“I had hesitated until this point, but I realize today is worth celebrating,” Keys remarked on beIN Sports.
“They’ve beaten one of the big teams, and the title battle has opened up as a consequence, but I wish (Mikel) Arteta was acting better than he is; he’s reverted to behaving as he was doing last year before the regulations were amended to stop him.
“I wish he had a little more class when Liverpool gave them the second, then the third, and there he goes again.
“I am checking my criticism. If you put one in the top corner to go 2-1 up, but it’s a gift, maintain some dignity. I mean, you have simply nicked on. Show us some dignity; I believe he went halfway down there before realising: ‘What are you doing?'”
Co-presenter Andy Gray disagreed with his beIN Sports colleague, comparing Arteta’s celebrations to Jurgen Klopp’s.
Gray stated, “They’ve just won a massive game; I understand the argument from last year – they beat Fulham.” Tonight was a huge night, and I don’t believe they overdid it.
“I don’t mean no one can rejoice; it’s a passionate game, the most emotional game in the world. Okay, some people might dislike it, but Arsenal fans adore it.
“They’re having a great time tonight, they haven’t overdone it, and the manager gets carried away – I’ll give you that. Your boss (Jurgen Klopp) celebrates too much.”
Mikel Arteta was observed impersonating Jurgen Klopp after Arsenal’s crushing victory against Liverpool.
Arsenal cut the distance on Liverpool by defeating the league leaders 3-1 at the Emirates on Sunday.
A Gabriel own goal canceled out Bukayo Saka’s opening, and second-half goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard ensured the hosts took all three points.
Jamie Carragher lambasted the scenes at full-time, expressing his emotions on Sky Sports.
Regardless of Carragher’s accusation, it was a major triumph for Arteta, who was seen celebrating his team’s victory on the pitch at full time.
In a euphoric moment, he mimicked the German’s signature fist pump celebration in front of Arsenal supporters.
Each fist pump was met with a cheer, similar to how the Kop end responds to Klopp’s gesture.
Arsenal now have 49 points, two behind Liverpool.
Arteta told BBC Sport: “I’m extremely thrilled. It was a massive game that would determine where we are and where we would go.
“What the players accomplished was incredible. When they do this, I must also put out my best effort.
“We’re connecting with our folks. We attempted to create a video to express how much we needed them. “They [the fans] got the best out of every player today.”
The Spaniard lauded Jorginho’s performance in the center of the field, stating, “I couldn’t [choose out one player]. Jorginho was named man of the match. I could not be happier. “He’s a real example.”
He went on to say: “Tonight we will enjoy it because we worked so hard to win it.”
Arsenal’s league season resumes next Sunday against West Ham United.
Liverpool play Burnley next Saturday.
Mikel Arteta apparently believes one Arsenal player has ‘no future’ at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal are currently within touching distance of the top of the Premier League, with leaders Liverpool currently holding a five point gap on the Gunners heading into this weekend’s action.
The two sides will face-off in North London on Sunday, giving Arsenal a perfect opportunity to close the gap on Jurgen Klopp’s side.
The points were shared in their first meeting of the season back in December, as Gabriel’s early opener was cancelled out by a Mohamed Salah goal shortly after.
They did go on to meet again in the FA Cup third round, where Liverpool progressed past Arsenal with a 2-0 win earlier in January.
Away from the action on the pitch, Arsenal had a fairly uneventful January transfer window, with no signings made by Arteta and his recruitment staff following their heavy spending last summer.
Despite the window being closed, the club continue to monitor all avenues to adjust the squad, which could lead to them axing one of the first team members, who reportedly has ‘no future’ at the Emirates.
According to Football Insider, Arsenal have decided to sell midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga in the summer. The 24-year-old midfielder is currently on loan at Luton Town, where he has made eight appearances in the top flight of English football.
The report goes on to claim that those at the club believe he has ‘no future’ in red, with the likes of Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard all ahead of him in the pecking order.
Lokonga was signed by Arsenal from RSC Anderlecht for around £15million back in 2021 but has failed to secure a regular role in the starting line-up, leading to temporary loan switches to Luton and Crystal Palace.
His current deal is set to expire in 2026, meaning the club could recuperate some of the money they spent on the player three years ago.
Rio Ferdinand has slammed Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta over a recent meeting.
During Arsenal’s winter break, Arteta took his men to Dubai for a warm-weather training camp.
The Gunners boss was seen dining at the world-famous Nusr-Et Steakhouse in Abu Dhabi.
In a video posted on social media, Arteta was seen being fed a piece of steak by the Turkish chef, who is more commonly known as Salt Bae.
However, former Manchester United man Ferdinand was not impressed with Arteta’s visit to Nusr-Et.
He said on Vibe with Five: “He [Salt Bae] was feeding some of the guests at my wedding like that.
“If I’m paying for that he ain’t feeding me nothing, not having it, but he was going around some of the guests doing that.”
Ferdinand added: “A Man United manager ain’t doing that, only an Arsenal manager would do that type of stupidness.
“Pep [Guardiola] ain’t doing that.”
Salt Bae received criticism during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after he was seen posing for pictures with the Argentina squad on the back of their victory over France in the final.
Speaking about the warm weather training camp in Dubai, Arteta said: “It was great, it was a phenomenal camp in every sense. We worked really hard on things that we wanted to do, and we recharged our batteries. The context and the change in environment in beautiful weather helped, and the togetherness and the moments that we shared together were great. We feel fully recharged.
“I think it gave us an opportunity to look at things with a bit of perspective and analyse what we’ve been doing, and I will take a lot of positives from the first six months of the competition. Even though results haven’t gone our way in the last few games, when you look at what we have produced in terms of the Premier League and any other team, we are up there.”
Mikel Arteta has broken his silence about fresh reports linking him with a sensational move to Barcelona.
Arteta is on Barca’s shortlist of candidates to replace Xavi following his decision to step down as manager at the end of the season.
The La Liga giants have been long-time admirers of Arteta, who was linked with the job following the dismissal of Ronald Koeman back in October 2021.
On Sunday, it was reported in Spain that the Arsenal boss is planning a shock exit in June after allegedly telling his close friends that he may leave at the end of the season.
But Arteta, who spent a portion of his youth career at Barca, has dismissed reports linking him with the hot-seat at the Camp Nou.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, he said: “No. That’s totally fake news. What I read yesterday I don’t know where it’s coming from. I’m really upset about it.”
He added: “I could not believe it. I don’t know where it’s coming from. I think we have to be very careful when you talk about personal things especially.
“I’m in the right place.”
On his contact, he continued: “I don’t know. I’ve got a strong relationship with the board. Things come in a natural way. We’ve always done it that way and we’ve done it really well.”
Asked why he’s angry with the Barca links, Arteta replied: “One is a consequence of the other. First of all I’m really cautious when I talk publicly about my personal things.
“When someone puts a statement about what we’ve done personally.
“Secondly because I don’t think someone deserves to hear news like that. I’ve always said completely the opposite. That’s why I feel upset.”
Arteta, who was Pep Guardiola’s No.2 at Manchester City, has been at the helm since December 2019 after replacing Unai Emery and is contracted until 2025.
He has overseen 211 matches, winning 121 games and guided his side to FA Cup glory in the 2019/20 season.
The 41-year-old almost led his team to the Premier League title last season as they finished in second place, five points behind Man City.
The Gunners, meanwhile, haven’t played since their comfortable 5-0 victory over Crystal Palace earlier this month.
They resume their league campaign tomorrow against Nottingham Forest.
Arsenal have 43 points on the board and sit in third place, five points behind league leaders Liverpool.
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