Wayne Rooney has called out Arsenal for “over-celebrating” reaching the Champions League final on Tuesday. A Bukayo Saka first half tap-in helped the Gunners with a 1-0 victory and securing the final ticket on a 2-1 aggregate win over Atletico Madrid.
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Mikel Arteta and Arsenal his men basked in a historic night at the Emirates which left Rooney unimpressed by the wild scenes of jubilation and fireworks lighting up the London sky. The Manchester United legend who appeared as a pundit for Prime Video Sport, said the celebrations were premature since the Gunners have not lifted the Champions League trophy yet.
Rooney said: “They deserve to be in this position but they haven’t won it yet. I think the celebrations are a little bit too much. Celebrate when you win!”
However, Arsenal legend Ian Wright did not care for Rooney’s comments. Shortly after the match, Wright took to X (formerly Twitter) to encourage all Arsenal faithfuls to ignore the critics and celebrate the historic win.
“Arsenal fans, let me tell you something: enjoy this,” Wright said in the video. “The celebration police will be out in force, do not get nicked! Enjoy yourselves, football’s about moments and this is a big moment. Enjoy it. And let’s hope that in the final and after the final, we have another massive moment. It’s a great day, it’s a great day!”
Meanwhile, former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger weighed in on the post-match celebrations at the Emirates. While he agreed that happiness expected, he urged the Arsenal team to quickly shift their focus to winning the title in Budapest.
“They celebrate well tonight – that is normal, but you want more for them to focus on the final already and the next game,” Wenger said on beIN Sports. “The celebration is deserved, happiness is absolutely normal, but now the next step is to go to the final and win it.”
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