Martin Odegaard Addresses Criticisms About Arsenal's Celebration After Beating Liverpool

Martin Odegaard courted controversies for his post-match celebration with club photographer Stuart MacFarlane following Arsenal’s dominant 3-1 triumph over Liverpool earlier on February 4. It was a crucial victory for the Gunners, who are currently just two points behind Liverpool in the Premier League standings. After the match was wrapped up at the Emirates, Odegaard was spotted clicking pictures of McFarlane, a die-hard Arsenal fan who was celebrating the win infront of the North Bank stand. The midfielder’s gesture, however, did not go down well with several English pundits. Odeegard has not hit back at those negative remarks.

Jamie Carragher who was covering the big-ticket Premier League clash for the official broadcaster, lashed out at Odegaard for his reaction in the post-match show. “Just get down the tunnel, you’ve won a game, it’s three points. You’ve been brilliant, they’re back in the title race, get down the tunnel. I’m serious, honestly,” the former English defender said on Sky Sports.

Manchester United legend Gary Neville also found Arsenal’s celebration quite immature. Odegaard, however, saw nothing wrong in his celebratory gestures. According to the Arsenal captain, it did nothing but underline their “love” for football and the club.

“I think everyone who understands football knows how much it means to win this game. And if you’re not allowed to celebrate when you win a game, when are you allowed to celebrate? We’re happy with the win and we’ll stay humble. We keep working hard and we prepare for the next one but of course, you have to be happy when you win. It was a massive game,” Odegaard said during a media interaction.

Former Arsenal forward Ian Wright could not digest the negative remarks about his ex-club and its manager Mikel Arteta. He dropped a face-cam video on X (formerly Twitter) where the footballer-turned-anchor was heard saying, “This man [Stuart the photographer] has been supporting Arsenal since he was five or something ridiculous like that. It’s got nothing to do with the fact that we’ve just beaten Liverpool, that’s just an opportunity. Why is everybody trying to kill the joy? Don’t kill the joy.”

Arsenal have been unbeaten in their last three Premier League appearances. Arteta’s side will look to continue the momentum when they take on West Ham United on February 11 away from home.