Arsene Wenger has leapt to Arsenal's defence over their Champions League celebrations, insisting they were 'deserved' and 'normal' after Wayne Rooney's brutal criticism. The England icon immediately took aim at Mikel Arteta and the players by claiming the jubilant scenes at the end were over the top.
Bukayo Saka scored the decisive goal just before half-time to clinch a 2-1 aggregate win and set up a final against either Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain. The Gunners celebrated wildly after the final whistle, drawing criticism from Rooney, who was at the Emirates as a pundit for Prime Video. The Manchester United legend 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."
Legendary former Gunners boss Wenger disagreed with that stance, insisting the Gunners had every right to enjoy the moment. Speaking on beIN Sports, the Frenchman said: "They celebrate well tonight, which is normal, but you want to focus already on the final and the next games. The celebration is deserved and happiness is normal – absolutely normal – but the next step is to go to the final and win in."
Wenger felt that the Gunners were worthy winners, saying: "I think Arsenal wanted it a bit more than Atleti and they were more decisive in the duels. We said before the game that to go to the final, they needed to be strong defensively and they didn't concede a goal tonight. They played a team who for 45 minutes absolutely needed to score a goal and they didn't give them a chance."
"I believe it shows how strong Arsenal are defensively and how disciplined they are, as well as the limitations of Atletico, who were not good enough in the final third. In the end, it's a well-deserved win for Arsenal, there's no doubt they were the better team over the two legs."
Following Manchester City's 3-3 draw at Everton on Monday, which put the Premier League title race in Arsenal's hands, Arteta's side are now only four matches away from completing a momentous double and securing the greatest season in the club's 140-year history. Arteta said: "It was an incredible night. We made history again together and I cannot be happier and prouder for everybody that's involved in this football club."
"The supporters were with us for every ball. They made it special and unique, and I have never felt it like that in this stadium. We knew how much it meant to everybody, we put everything on the line, the boys did an incredible job and after 20 years, and the second time in our history, we are back in the Champions League final."
