"Served to rub salt in Brentford's wounds" - Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta boss slammed by pundit for post-match comments after 2-1 win over Brentford
BBC pundit Garth Crooks has slammed Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta for his comments regarding Kai Havertz following the Gunners' 2-1 win against Brentford on March 9.
Havertz scored the winner in the 86th minute but many believed he should not have been on the pitch after diving while already on a yellow card. The German was initially booked for elbowing Brentford defender Kristoffer Ajer. Later in the game, he tried to make inroads into the Bees' box and went down, with replays showing it was a dive.
Crooks slammed the playmaker in his column, stating:
"Brentford boss Thomas Frank was absolutely right. Kai Havertz had no right to be on the pitch when he scored the winner in Arsenal's 2-1 win over Brentford.
"The Germany international, having received a caution for throwing his elbow, elected to dive in the Brentford penalty area in order to try to seek a clear advantage."
Crooks then turned his attention to Mikel Arteta's post-match comments. The Gunners boss first talked about the game: (via football.london)
"It felt great. Obviously we had to dig in and earn the right to win it. I’m really pleased with the performance, the maturity and control that we showed and how we overcame difficulties. If you want to be up there you have to win these types of games. The team showed that it has the tools and the determination to do so."
He then spoke about Havertz:
"If somebody told me after the first two or three months that the whole stadium would be singing his song with that passion, with that feeling with that chemistry, I would have found it hard to believe. That’s what happens to good people. He's an exceptional player."
Crooks believes glorifying the controversial win and singing Havertz's praises sends a wrong message to viewers. He slammed Arteta, stating:
"For Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to then glorify the 'manner of the win' in his post-match interview, having seen him gloating with Havertz at the end of the game, was a poor advert and only served to rub salt in Brentford's wounds."
It is safe to say that Havertz was lucky to stay on the pitch and the Gunners were lucky to secure the win.
Mikel Arteta calls on Arsenal supporters to be loud against FC Porto
Trailing by a slender one-goal margin from the first leg in Portugal, Mikel Arteta's Arsenal have a tricky task ahead of them. They will have to win by a two-goal margin against Sergio Conceicao's well-drilled Porto side to qualify for the quarter-finals.
However, the Spaniard seemed upbeat ahead of the game.
When asked what overturning the deficit to qualify would mean to him and his team, Arteta said, (via Arsenal news platform on X afcstuff):
"That's the opportunity that we have tomorrow. In front of our people, in our stadium, for 96 minutes, bring your energy, bring your noise, and let's do it together!"
The Gunners have been in great form at home of late. They have won each of their last four games at the Emirates Stadium, scoring 14 goals in the process and conceding just three.