‘Go to church’ — Mikel Arteta tells critics of Arsenal’s celebrations

Arsenal completed a 3-2 comeback against Bournemouth last weekend as Reiss Nelson scored the 97th winner to send the Emirates into a frenzy. The bench and players went wild after the goal went in, which prompted match referee Chris Kavanagh to note the incident in his post-match report.  

However, the Football Association decided it would not take any action on the incident after completing an investigation.

This is not the first time Arsenal’s celebrations have been questioned, with ex-Manchester United right-back Gary Neville questioning the emotional scenes after Arsenal’s late winner at Aston Villa few weeks ago.

Arteta faced the press as his team prepared for Sunday’s game against Fulham and was asked if he would stop his players from celebrating after the game.

"If you win in football, you celebrate," he responded. "If you want passion and emotion, there is nothing better than scoring goals and winning football matches. 

"If not, you go to church. For sure, I won't be telling the players not to celebrate on Sunday," he added.

Arsenal saw their five-point lead cut to two last night as Manchester City pipped Crystal Palace 1-0 with an Erling Haaland penalty.

The Gunners will hope Gabriel Jesus can make his return against Fulham to help restore the five-point lead. 

When Arteta was asked if Jesus could make his return against the Cottagers, he responded, "Let's see. He really needs to feel confident and ready to go. He has a big say in that."

Arsenal have a bit of a crisis in attack, with Eddie Nketiah and Leandro Trossard both likely to miss out with injuries.