Arsenal5 - 1Man City

Arsenal's astonishing 5-1 Premier League win over Manchester City and the subsequent fallout was the epitome of "proper football", Gunners expert Charles Watts has told Sports Mole.

An Emirates extravaganza that more than lived up to the hype was prefaced by several intriguing sub-plots, most notably Erling Haaland's antics in September's 2-2 draw after Pep Guardiola's men stole a point at the last minute.

The Norway international threw the ball at the back of Gabriel Magalhaes's head after John Stones's leveller, told Gunners boss Mikel Arteta to "stay humble" and also insulted Arsenal teenager Myles Lewis-Skelly with a "who the f*** are you?" remark.

However, Arsenal got their revenge and then some on Sunday, where Gabriel celebrated Martin Odegaard's opener in Haaland's face, Lewis-Skelly copied the Scandinavian's celebration after putting the Gunners 3-1 up, and Kendrick Lamar's 'Humble' boomed out of the PA system at full time.

"It's all part of the fun. You want these rivalries in football," Watts told Sports Mole. "It just adds to the occasion. I just think football's got a bit too nicey-nicey. What that game on Sunday was about was just proper football.

"Man City will be absolutely within their rights to remember all of this for the next game to do exactly the same to Arsenal. If they come out on top, then they should enjoy it and they should rub Arsenal's noses in it, just as the way Arsenal did today.

"It's just what football's about. We seem so determined to suck the fun out of football and telling people how they should celebrate and how they should enjoy games. It does my head in at times."

Watts hits out at Neville "hypocrisy" after Man City win

Gabriel had insisted before kickoff that the needle was still present between the two squads after the fracas at the Etihad, but the Brazilian's antics did not go down well with ex-Manchester United right-back Gary Neville.

Speaking on Sky Sports while doing his punditry duties, Neville took aim at Gabriel for 'disrespecting' Haaland, referring back to an incident where an unnamed Arsenal player did the same thing to him at Highbury.

However, Watts trawled through the archives to find Neville talking about he and Jamie Carragher "laughing" about Haaland throwing the ball at Gabriel, and the Arsenal expert slammed the ex-Red Devils captain for such "hypocrisy".

"There's been some criticism of the way Arsenal handled it, especially from Gary Neville, which just reeks of hypocrisy," Watts added. "I looked at a quote of Gary Neville after the 2-2 earlier in the season about what Haaland did to Gabriel.

"He admitted it could have been a red card, but he just said that him and Carragher were laughing about it because it was funny. Then for Gabriel daring to shout and celebrate in Haaland's face, apparently that's left him feeling uneasy and thought it was disrespectful. It's just hypocrisy."

'Arsenal have made their bed, they must lie in it'

Gabriel and Arsenal briefly had to eat their words when Haaland equalised with his 250th career club goal, but Thomas Partey's deflected effort immediately restored parity before Lewis-Skelly's maiden Gunners goal and humorous celebration.

Kai Havertz and Ethan Nwaneri completed a remarkable rout later on in the second half, but while it was Arsenal's turn to toy with the champions on Sunday, Watts has warned Arteta's side that they will have to lie in the bed they have made for themselves if Man City triumph in the next head-to-head.

"Football is football. It's about passion. It's about winding the other opposition up, whether that be fans, whether it be players, whether it be managers, whatever it is all about," Watts added.

"Arsenal have done this now and they've made a bed, they're going to have to lie in it. If City get one over them next season, which quite possibly they will, then Arsenal have to just accept the fallback that's going to come their way.

"That's football and that's what it should be about. It's what it should always be about. It's just got a bit too sterile for me. It feels like people are just so ready to jump on and criticise fans, players for anything, for daring to enjoy themselves. And I just think it's a load of rubbish."

Despite Arsenal's marvellous mauling of Man City on Sunday, the Gunners remain six points adrift of Liverpool in the Premier League table, and the Reds still boast a game in hand.

Press play on the video above to hear the full discussion, as Watts also gives his verdict on whether Arsenal's 5-1 win was their best result of the Arteta era.

Written by

Ben Knapton