‘If you’re not allowed to celebrate, what’s the point of going to games?’
Laura Woods has called out Gabriel Agbonlahor for his comments over Arsenal’s celebrations following their 1-0 win against Aston Villa on Saturday.
Following similar comments made by his former Villa teammate Ashley Young, Agbonlahor criticised the Gunners for their reaction to the hard-fought win at Villa Park and claimed that they had “celebrated like they had won the Champions League.”
During TalkSPORT’s breakfast show debate on Monday, Woods, who is also an Arsenal fan, criticised Agbonlahor’s views and questioned why people would go to games if they weren’t able to celebrate.
Woods defended their celebrations by saying: “This is a club that at the start of the season, nobody would have given them a shot of top four. Nobody at all.
“Everybody had written them off, including myself as an Arsenal fan, and I actually wouldn’t accept it for a very long part of the season.
😳 “The way Arsenal celebrated it was like they’d won the Champions League!”
👀 “The scenes from the players, it was like they’d won the league. I think they over did the celebrations.”
Gabby Agbonlahor wasn’t happy with Arsenal’s celebrations at FT yesterday pic.twitter.com/KO85fLWZVz
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) March 20, 2022
“I just didn’t think that they necessarily had the quality in them to do so.”
Woods then continued, adding that the importance of the win in Arsenal’s quest to finish in the top four was a big statement and that the club had every right to celebrate their achievement.
❤️ “I love that Arsenal celebrated!”
🙏 “If you’re not allowed to celebrate, what’s the point of going to games?”
😡 “Just stop penalising people for celebrating, it’s football!”
Laura Woods responds to Gabby Agbonlahor’s criticism of #AFC’s celebrations after beating #AVFC 👏 pic.twitter.com/NDaJyN4hTu
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) March 21, 2022
“If you’re not allowed to celebrate your wins, however big or however small they are, what’s the point in going to football?
“If you’re not allowed to celebrate a goal in a game you might lose, just in case you lose it, if you’re not allowed to celebrate a win in a season that you’re going for top four, you may you might not, shall we just wait until the end of the 38-game season?
“It doesn’t really work like that. They had a clean sheet against a team – Aston Villa aren’t mugs and they’ve significantly invested in their own rights – so it’s not like we’re playing a side that was bottom of the league.
“Just stop penalising people for celebrating, Gabby. It’s football at the end of the day. You have to be able to celebrate, you have to be able to go to a game and I love that they celebrated. That’s what Arsenal’s all about.
“But Gabby Agbonlahor, don’t listen to me, listen to your argument.”
