Manager says his players celebrated hard after beating Arsenal because they “know the value of the opponent”
Pep Guardiola has dismissed criticism of Manchester City’s celebrations following their 2-1 win over Arsenal, insisting the reaction reflected the importance of the result in the title race.
City’s players celebrated emphatically at fulltime at the Etihad Stadium, with Gianluigi Donnarumma notably climbing into the crowd behind his goal. The reaction drew criticism from pundits, including Wayne Rooney and Danny Murphy, who suggested the celebrations were excessive given Arsenal are still top of the table.
Guardiola rejected those claims ahead of City’s upcoming league fixture against Burnley.
“People can say whatever stupid things they want to say,” Guardiola said. “They celebrated because they know the value of the opponent. They knew if we didn’t win it would be ‘bye-bye [to the title race]’. They won and still we are there.
“How can they not celebrate it? As much as you respect the opponent and the fans of the opponent, celebrate however you want.
“Of course we are not going to celebrate in the middle of the week if we win 3-0 or 4-0 and the opponent is different. Everybody knew that game, it was a final. Especially for us. Maybe not for them but for us it was a final and of course you have to celebrate it.”
The victory leaves City three points behind Arsenal with a game in hand. A win at Turf Moor would move Guardiola’s side level on points with the leaders and potentially level on goal difference, with City taking the advantage and going top for the moment only on goals scored.
