After Arsenal’s tight victory over Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon, Ashley Young criticized his teammates for celebrating “like they won the league.”
The Gunners prevailed 1-0 at Villa Park thanks to a first-half goal from Bukayo Saka, securing their spot in the Premier League’s top four.
Throughout a cagey match, clear-cut chances were few and far between, with Arsenal getting three efforts on target to their hosts’ one.
While Young conceded in a candid post-match assessment that Villa’s lack of attacking threat was “disappointing,” he took issue with the visitors’ noisy celebrations.
As they paid their respects, Mikel Arteta and his teammates were greeted with a Champions League-related chant from a jubilant away end.
Young, a Villa defender, was less than impressed by the celebrations, but saw them as an indication of how tough Arsenal found the game.
After the final whistle, the former Manchester United wideman told VillaTV, “We want to make this a tough place to come and I think it is a tough place.”
“You should have seen how they rejoiced; it seemed like they had won the league. However, it is clear that they had a difficult time.
We want to be in those European spots, we want to get the club back there, and everyone shares that desire. So we want to make it a difficult place to visit, but we also want to win games.”
Highbury icon Ian Wright responded amusingly to Neves’ remarks, posting a photo on Instagram with the caption “Still celebrating.”
Meanwhile, in a furious interview with BT Sport’s Des Kelly, Steven Gerrard shared Young’s anger about Villa’s performance. “We allowed it to be tough in the first half,” the manager explained.
“In the things we tried to do, I believe we were indecisive. I believe our performance lacked conviction. We didn’t show how much better we can be until after halftime.”