"Arsene Wenger would have been howled out of the arena" - Richard Keys defends statement that Arsenal over celebrated narrow win against Fulham
BeIN Sports presenter Richard Keys is of the view that the manner in which Arsenal celebrated their win against Fulham showed how far they have fallen.
Arsenal took their winning run of the season to four games with a 2-1 victory over Fulham on Saturday (August 27). They had to dig deep to claim the win, but ensured that they retained their spot at the top of the table.
Alexander Mitrovic opened the scoring for the Cottagers just before the one-hour mark. Martin Odegaard equalized for the Gunners eight minutes later, while Gabriel Magalhaes grabbed the winner.
Mikel Arteta was spotted rejoicing at his team's victory as they held on to the one-goal lead. However, Keys was not pleased with the way in which the Spaniard celebrated and claimed he was 'irritating'.
The BeIN Sports reporter has since been the subject of criticism from Arsenal fans. But, he has only gone on to defend his statement, asserting that former Gunners boss Arsene Wenger would have been howled out of the stadium after earning a similar result. Keys said:
"I understand Arsenal fans celebrating in the manner that they did. I felt that the coach and his players over celebrated a 2-1 win against Fulham. I think this sort of reaction to what happened yesterday from Arteta and Co. tells me how far they've fallen."
"Arsene Wenger would have been howled out of the arena if his team had scraped to a 2-1 with in effect an own goal, which was way off target until it took a deflection, and a present from Leno."
#beINPL"The coach and his players over celebrated a 2-1 win over Fulham! This sort of reaction to what happened yesterday from Arteta tells me how far they have fallen!"
@richardajkeys doubles down on Arsenal celebrating their 2-1 win over Fulham!
#ARSFUL 🔴⚪️ #beINPL https://t.co/Sp611UD0Ed
Let Arsenal celebrate, says Nigel de Jong
Keys' statement was met with resistance from former former Manchester City midfielder Nigel de Jong in the BeIN Sports studio. The Dutchman asserted that his colleague put too much weight on celebrations.
De Jong pointed out how the Gunners have not had much reason to celebrate in recent says. He went on to justify that the the London giants have every right to rejoice after winning each of their four matches so far. He said:
"I think you [Keys] put too much weight on celebrations, to be honest. We're only four games in, in four games, they have 12 points. When was the last time they had four games and 12 points at the start of the season like that?"
"Arsenal haven't been successful over the last couple of seasons and they have had no reason to celebrate. Let them celebrate."
Arteta and Co. host Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium in their next Premier League match on Wednesday (August 31).