There remains a worrying lack of maturity about a wonderfully talented team that could prevent them from winning a major trophy
At St. James' Park on Wednesday evening, Newcastle gave Arsenal a taste of their own medicine – and the Gunners didn't like it one bit. In a surprisingly straightforward Carabao Cup semi-final, the home side pressed Arsenal relentlessly, they bullied them physically, they got in their faces constantly, they wasted time remorselessly and, then, to top it all off, they took the p*ss out of them mercilessly.
While the home crowd continued to sing "Mikel Arteta, it's not the ball!" as they exited the ground after completing a 4-0 aggregate win courtesy of a 2-0 victory on the night, goalscorer Anthony Gordon told in his post-match interview, "It's important for us to stay humble now."
'Stay humble' – Arsenal are more than familiar with the expression but appear to have absolutely no idea what it involves.
Getty Images SportWhere it all began
Erling Haaland stands accused of starting all this, of course.
The Norwegian completely lost his cool during Manchester City's 2-2 draw with a 10-man Arsenal at the Etihad back in September, bouncing the ball off Gabriel Magalhaes' head after John Stones' late leveller before then clashing with Arteta, Gabriel Jesus and Myles Lewis-Skelly in the centre circle after the full-time whistle had blown.
It was a pathetic petulance from Haaland and Arsenal should never have responded to it – even belatedly.
They should have been pleased with the precious point they'd picked up but Haaland's pathetic display clearly bothered them, so they bided their time and decided to respond in kind at the Emirates on Sunday.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportArsenal make something out of nothing
First, Gabriel needlessly roared in Haaland's face after Arsenal's opening goal. Later, Lewis-Skelly trolled the Norwegian by imitating his 'Zen' celebration after putting his team 3-1 ahead.
It evoked memories of a group of Paris Saint-Germain players also renowned for bottling big games by mocking Haaland in precisely the same manner after a win over Borussia Dortmund in 2020 – and there was simply no need for it, especially not on a day that the Gunners sent a clear message to Liverpool that they won't be giving up this season's Premier League title without a fight.
Obviously, nobody wants to take the needle or fun out of football and it's absolutely ludicrous the Football Association (FA) are genuinely considering sanctioning celebrations that they feel cross a line "over into mockery or criticism".
It shouldn't even be a debate right now. But Arsenal have made it one – and that's the point there.
AFPA lot of big talk but no titles
There's too much noise around Arsenal right now, so the last thing they should be doing is contributing to it by taking wholly unnecessary shots at opponents – particularly when there's a widespread perception that their players are in absolutely no position to do so.
The Gunners are becoming renowned – and ridiculed – for a lot big talk but an embarrassing lack of major titles.
So, while people can disagree over whether Arsenal's conduct on Sunday was undignified, it was unquestionably unnecessary – and also utterly unhelpful.
Arsenal are under enough pressure as it is to finally deliver the title they've been threatening for two years.
The presumption was that when time finally caught up with Pep Guardiola's ageing Manchester City squad, up-and-coming Arsenal would be the team to take over. Instead, it's Liverpool who are leading the way this season.
Consequently, we're now in this rather remarkable position where it's the side in second place that's under more media scrutiny than the table-toppers who suffered a spectacular collapse less than a year ago.
AFP'Just leave it'
Arteta, then, really could have done without his own players producing yet another rod with which to beat Arsenal, and it's significant that he didn't even want to be drawn on Lewis-Skelly's celebration in his post-match press conference.
"I haven't seen it and there’s nothing that I want to discuss about it," the Spaniard told reporters. "[It's] down to the players. But they know my view on it and we have to focus on us.
"We have to leave anything that happens on the pitch. It’s part of the game and whatever happens on the pitch, I think we’ve been in football a long time, just leave it."